Love is Blind
by necris14
Summary: Sort of a retelling of the last half of Battle Frontier, but with Advanceshipping! Starts right after AG159. My first fic on here!
1. Chapter 1: And So It Begins

_Erm. Yay? My first fanfic on here, though I've already started it on a seperate site. I'll be uploading the first few chapters as soon as I can._

_Please R&R!_

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A warm and inviting sun shone across the plains of the Kanto region. Near the outskirts of Fuchsia City, four youths were calmly making their way toward the large town. One of them was significantly broader and tanner than the others, and one was similarly shorter than the rest. Two, however, seemed to be nearly the same height, though one was still broader in build than the other.

Numerous creatures scampered around the landscape surrounding the four travelers, varying in size and shape. A group of small bird-like creatures glided low over the grass while a pack of small purple rats were led through the foliage by a much larger tan rat. There was even a two-headed bird clomping through the area, loudly disturbing any of the creatures it happened to run past.

"Man. Let's not try _that _again any time soon." The smallest of the four companions said in a depressed tone. He was clad in a green polo shirt and dark shorts, as well as large glasses and dark blue hair. Max.

"Mm, yeah." The broader middle one responded in agreement. "Who came up with Pokemon racing, anyway?" He wore a blue sleeveless hoodie with a black T-shirt underneath and jeans, as well as a red hat with a red stripe bearing a green Pokeball emblem on it. The hat masked his messily unkempt black hair. Ash.

"I think there's a league of Rapidash racers who would strongly disagree with you." The largest of the four joked. He was indeed much tanner than the rest of the group. He wore a dark brown jacket and pants with a forest green shirt underneath, and had uncovered spiky brown hair. Brock.

"You guys are just mad 'cause you know Eevee and I would've won if Team Rocket hadn't stopped us short." The second middle traveler, and only female of the group, responded jovially. She bore a tight red shirt and navy shorts partially covered by a short white skirt and had longer brown hair partially covered by a bright red bandana bearing a Pokeball logo. May.

"Well, hey, it isn't my fault!" Max countered, looking over at his older sister. "I mean...Munchlax wasn't even my Pokemon, right?"

"Oh, so, what, now it's _my_ fault that you wouldn't have won?" May shot back playfully. "Don't blame me if you can't handle my Pokemon..."

As the two siblings continued to go at it with each other, Ash and Brock simply looked at each other and grinned sheepishly. The two siblings arguing was a common occurrence at this point for their companions, who had learned to simply shrug it off and wait for it to pass.

"Piii-ka..." Ash's Pikachu moaned from his perch on his owner's shoulder. Contrary to others, Pikachu much preferred everyday life outside with Ash to sitting inside a Pokeball all day.

"I know, buddy." Ash responded, turning his head to face his longtime partner. "I'm pretty beat after all that, too."

"Fuchsia City shouldn't be much farther at this point." Brock said reassuringly.

"Man, I don't remember it taking this long the last time we came here." Ash said, thinking back a few years to a particular involving a meeting with a group of a certain mole Pokemon.

"That's because last time we went around the other way, through the mountains, and ended up getting lost about three times along the way."

"Oh yeah...like when we met those guys trying to build a dam, and the Diglett kept disturbing them?"

Brock nodded knowingly, his own thoughts drifting back in time as well. "Yeah. Gary was there, too, but none of us actually managed to help them that much."

Further down the path, Max and May were still arguing, and it seemed to have escalated in the past few minutes.

"Sometimes I just can't stand you, Max!"

"Whoever said I was crazy about you?"

Ash and Brock cautiously re-entered the group, grinning nervously at their companions. "Come on, guys, calm down. We're almost to Fuchsia City..." Brock said to them, hoping they would just dismiss their argument.

"Oh, are we?" May shot back. "That's too bad - I heard they don't allow infuriating younger brothers in the city limits!"

"Oh, really?" Max said in mock surprise. "I heard they don't allow annoying older sisters in, either!"

Ash and Brock merely glanced at each other and sighed.

"Pii..." Pikachu muttered sadly in agreement.

Meanwhile, across the field from the group of four, a somewhat thin, lanky man in a black cloak scanned them through his binoculars.

"Hmm...a group of four is approaching the city now. Looks like at least one of them is going to challenge the Palace." He paused for a moment. "Get things ready for me."

"Sometimes, I'm surprised your bandana even fits on your head, it's so big and bloated!" Max berated, continuing the string of insults he'd been flinging at his sister.

"You know what?" May said suddenly, putting her hands on her hips. "I wouldn't even mind staying out of this city, if it gets me away from _him_ for a while! It's not like there's a Contest Hall here, anyway!"

"That's fine with me!" Max said angrily, looking away.

"No, come on, guys. We're all going to the city." Brock said calmly, trying once again to keep the peace. "Remember? The Battle Palace is there for Ash and then afterwards we're heading to Crysanthemum Island off the coast for May's Contest."

May and Max turned and stared hard at each other for a long period of silence. Then they finally both muttered "Fine" in unison.

Brock grinned in acceptance as the four continued walking.

"Sometimes I have a hard time believing those two are related..." Ash muttered, coming up beside his older friend.

"Are you kidding? My little brothers and sisters argue all the time." Brock explained, chuckling softly. "It's just what siblings do."

"Yeah, well, if that's what having a brother or sister is like, I think I'm happy I don't have any." Ash said, glancing sideways at May and Max.

Suddenly, a large black, red and white Pokemon with multiple heads materialized in the middle of the path ahead of them. May, who had turned away from lingering disgust at her younger brother, didn't see it and continued walking, running into it head-on.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, recoiling. "What - ?"

Ash, Brock, and Max shared a similiar reaction as they stared at the large Claydol that had just appeared before them.

"Is it...wild?" Max suggested nervously, staring at the beast.

"I doubt it." Brock said, examining it closely. "Claydol _is_ a Pokemon native to Hoenn, after all."

"S...sorry!" A voice chimed in from behind the Pokemon. A man suddenly ran around the side of it, seemingly out of breath. "Sorry for any trouble he caused you...this, erm, Claydol, belongs to me, you see...we were training with Teleport and, um, I suppose he miscalculated."

"I'll say." Max said, eyes still locked on the Claydol.

"So, are you heading for the Battle Palace, too?" The man asked suddenly, eyeing Ash in particular.

Ash's eyes lit up at the man's words. "Yeah, or I am, at least. I'm Ash, and this is my buddy Pikachu."

"Pi-ka-chu." Pikachu greeted the man warmly.

"Nice to meet you - I'm Nate, and I guess you've already met Claydol here." The man said, grinning to the group. "And who are your companions? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"I'm May, but I'm not here for the Battle Palace." May explained. "I'm a Coordinator - "

"Ah, so you'll be heading to Crysanthemum Island after Fuchsia, I presume?" The man interrupted.

May glanced at her companions before continuing. "Y-yeah, we heard there was a Contest Hall there..."

"I'm Max." Max said pointedly, cutting his sister off. "I'm not a Trainer yet, but I know a lot about Pokemon, and this Claydol here seems a little...different..."

"Oh, does he?" Nate responded, stroking his larger companion. "He might be tired out from all his training today - I guess we should call it quits for now, eh?"

Max nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess. Too much training is just as bad as not enough."

"Right you are, my young friend."

Brock didn't respond to the man, instead examining the large Pokemon next to him. _"Max was right, something's not right about this Claydol..."_

"Well, I think I've held you four up long enough." Nate said respectfully. "I'll let you be on your way, then."

"Maybe we'll meet up at the Battle Palace!" Ash said happily as they continued down the road.

Nate simply waved a hand at them as they slowly walked out of his sight. "Oh, trust me, Ash. We will."

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_Reviews are appreciated!_


	2. Chapter 2: Fuchsia City

_Well, on the original site I started this on a few weeks ago, I'm actually up to Chapter 12. So I will try to upload all the finished ones as quick as I can to get you guys up to speed. _

_Until then, enjoy!_

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A cool breeze swept through the city as the group of four travelers entered the confines of the coastal town. May shivered as the wind slipped past her.

"Ooo..." She moaned, crossing her arms across her chest in an attempt to warm herself. "It's kind of cold here..."

"Well, yeah, the city's just off the coast. There's even a beach down south somewhere - "

"Oh, really?" May cried in excitement, her previous complaint already forgotten. "We've got to go down there later!"

Ash and Max glanced at each other and shrugged glumly, the two boys quite familiar with the young girl's love for the beach.

"That won't be a problem, we're heading down that way anyway to catch the boat to Crysanthemum Island later." Brock assured her.

As May squealed in excitement further down the street, Ash took to glancing at the surrounding buildings, remembering his last visit to the town: his search for the city's invisible Gym, his battle with the Gym Leader and ninja master, Koga, and how when they finally made it to the Safari Zone, the grumpy old Warden had almost shot them on sight.

_"Those were the days..."_ Ash thought to himself silently as his companions advanced further down the road. _"Man, that was back when Misty still traveled around with us..."_

For some reason, when he thought of the female Gym Leader as part of his little cadre, he felt an odd twinge of annoyance in his stomach, though he couldn't figure out why. The harder he thought about it, the worse it got, until...

"Ash!" May called out from the far end of the street. Ash jerked his head up, snapping out of his self-induced trance, and noticed that he had been lagging behind his companions for quite some time. "Hurry up, you slowpoke!"

"Y-yeah, I'm coming!" Ash responded, taking off at a sprint to catch back up with his friends. By the time he reached them, the strange twinge that caused him to halt before was gone, leaving Ash just as confused as he had been previously.

"So where's this Battle Palace of yours?" May asked eagerly as the group continued walking now that Ash was with them again.

"I don't know..." Ash said, looking around the breezy town, observing a few of the civilians walking through the streets. "The Gym here is invisible, or at least it was the last time we were here. So, maybe the Battle Palace is hidden too..." He glanced over at his female companion. "Why're you so interested all of a sudden?"

"Well, I just figure that the quicker you beat the Frontier Brain, the quicker we can go down to the beach and to my Contest!" May exclaimed happily, grinning at the thought.

"Oh...right..." Ash mumbled in response, staring at May as he recalled the strange tingling feeling from before.

"Well, if you're looking for something to do until then, you could always go check out the Safari Zone north of town." Brock suggested, turning to look at May as well.

"Aw, that's right!" Max cried suddenly, his head shooting up. "Kanto's Safari Zone is near here, isn't it?"

"Safari Zone...?" May said slowly.

"Can I go with you, sis?" Max asked hopefully, glancing over at his sister with wide eyes. "Pleeeease?"

"I - I don't know..."

"Oh, come on!" Max persisted. "It'll be so cool! Do you know how many rare Pokemon are kept in there?"

"...well, all right." May agreed hesitantly. "I guess it can't hurt, if we're gonna be staying in town for a while anyway..." She chuckled to herself. "Who knows, maybe I'll actually find something cool in there."

"Uh, yeah, you can say that again!" Max said, already excited at the prospect of seeing the safeguarded Pokemon reserve. "Oh man, this is gonna be so great!"

Brock grinned at the two of them. "All right, then. Let's go check in at the Pokemon Center, then I can show you guys where the Safari Zone is."

Max nodded eagerly at Brock's words. May, however, glanced over at Ash. "What about you, Ash? You coming too?"

Ash shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm gonna go train for the Battle Palace."

"Pika!" Pikachu chimed in, nodding enthusiastically.

"Sure you don't want to come?" Max asked, turning to the older trainer. "I think even you could find something there..."

Ash chuckled. "I already have, Max. Remember those Tauros I have back at Professor Oak's place?"

"Oh, that's right!" Max said, his face brightening as the image of the rare bull Pokemon appeared in his mind. "But, it's not like you've ever really used them, right?"

"Hey, I thought you guys were going to the Pokemon Center? Ash said pointedly, glowering at the young boy.

"I'm just saaaaaying..." Max chirped, dancing backward away from Ash.

"Piiika..." Pikachu said softly as their three companions headed further into the city, May waving back at them.

"...Mm...whatever." Ash muttered in response. "I never really liked those Tauros anyway."

Later that evening, Ash was positioned on the far side of an open field, with Pikachu standing at his feet. His other four Pokemon had all been released in the grass, and were currently engaged in two seperate one-on-one battles by Ash's order. He had figured it to be the most efficient way to make sure they were all equally prepared for the battle ahead, as he wasn't sure who he wanted to battle with yet.

"Good job, Donphan!" He called out encouragingly to his elephant-like Armor Pokemon.

"Piika! Pi-ka-chu!" Pikachu added as Swellow swooped down low, narrowly missing Donphan with Aerial Ace.

Across the field from them, Grovyle and Corphish were also locked in combat, with neither side looking to break anytime soon, despite Grovyle's type advantage.

"Cooor-phish!" Corphish bellowed, hardening his armor to a polished sheen as Grovyle struck yet again with Leaf Blade. It simply bounced off, as it had all the other times the grass Pokemon had attempted the same move.

"Groooo!" Grovyle cried angrily, bouncing back away from his opponent.

"Coooor-phish-phish-phish!" Corphish squalled, cracking open its pinchers and loosing a torrent of bubbles from each.

"Gro! Vyle!" Grovyle roared, nimbly jumping away from the harsh stream. He flipped over in midair, attempting to hit Corphish with an overhead Pound attack.

"Corphish!" Corphish saw it coming, and parried the strike with his own glowing claw, swatting Grovyle out of the sky with Crabhammer.

"GROVYLE!" Grovyle bellowed as he skidded on the ground, unleashing a torrent of Bullet Seed from his mouth.

"Coooor!" Corphish roared, countering the move with another Bubblebeam.

Meanwhile, Donphan wasn't faring much better against Swellow. Due to his limited attack range, he could only move in for a strike when the bird Pokemon was down low.

"Swellow!" Swellow squaked harshly, bearing down in an attempt to use Aerial Ace again.

"Phaaaaaaa!" Donphan grunted angrily, bending under the blow even with Defense Curl.

"Swellow! Swelllll!" Swellow roared, looping around and diving to strike with Wing Attack.

"Phaaaaan!" Donphan bellowed, quickly improvising a Rollout and crashing into Swellow as it glided down to his level.

"Swell - !" Swellow cried out in surprise, swerving to the side in midair as it lost its balance.

"Doooooo!" Donphan cried, quickly spinning around and firing a Hyper Beam at its disorientated opponent.

"Swellowww!" Swellow cried harshly, taking the full brunt of the blow and crashing into the ground.

"Grooooo-vyle!" Grovyle screeched from across the field, swinging another Leaf Blade at Corphish.

"Coooor...!" Corphish grunted, catching the strike in its open claw. It struggled under the pressure for a moment, then swatted Grovyle away with its free pincher and quickly fired a Bubblebeam.

"Groooooo!" Grovyle cried in pain as the numerous bubbles impacted its flesh, sending it toppling to the ground in defeat.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried happily, raising his right arm in the air.

"Yeah!" Ash agreed heartily, gesturing to all of his Pokemon. "Great job, you guys!"

"Corphish, cor!" Corphish responded, turning and grinning at its trainer.

Donphan merely grunted in acknowledgement.

_"Ah, well, I guess it was too much to hope that he'd actually smile or something..."_ Ash said, grinning at the thought of Donphan cracking a grin of his own. "Well, anyway, return, all of you! You _all_ deserve a rest after that!"

"Hey, Ash...!" May's voice called, echoing throughout the now-empty field before Ash and Pikachu. "Ash!"

"Huh?" Ash said to himself, turning to see May jogging up the low hill toward him, with Max close behind. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you were going to the Safari Zone?"

"Yeah, we are." May said, taking a minute to catch her breath as Max ran up beside her.

"But where's...?"

"Brock?" Max finished, interjecting into the conversation as usual. "Where do you think? He's back at the Pokemon Center, trying to convince Nurse Joy to watch the sunset with him."

Ash smiled in acknowledgement of his older friend's eternal quest to court one of the various Nurse Joys across the world.

May simply giggled. "Yeah, so he gave us the directions and we decided to go and find it ourselves." She looked around the field, faintly noticing the slowly darkening amber sky in the background. "So, are you guys still training out here?"

"Yeah...well, we were, at least." Ash explained as Pikachu clambored back up on his shoulder. "I think everyone's tired out for the day."

May nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but Max cut her off. "Come on, May! If we don't hurry up it's gonna be closed!"

"Yeah, I'm coming!" She answered as Max ran off past Ash's training field. Quickly turning back to Ash, who was now framed against the burning sky, she reached into her fanny pack and retrieved the key to their room at the Pokemon Center.

"Oh, thanks!" Ash said enthusiastically, eyeing the key. She slipped it from her hand into his, and for a split second, as their hands locked, Ash felt the stomach flutter for the third time that day.

However, he didn't even notice it this time, and a second later, May was chasing down her all-too-eager younger brother, and Ash was running back toward Fuchsia City, Pikachu perched on his shoulder.

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_Please R&R!_


	3. Chapter 3: Showdown at the Battle Palace

_Two chapters uploaded together here. Again, in my attempt to catch up with the original site._

_Enjoy!_

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Once Ash and Pikachu reached the Pokemon Center, they found Brock still conversing with Nurse Joy at the counter. Deciding it was better to leave him be, they quickly snuck upstairs to their room and wasted no time in preparing themselves for bed. In a matter of minutes, Ash had claimed a bed, laid down his pack, removed his hat and sweatshirt, and was already laying down.

"'Night, buddy." Ash murmured, turning to face his partner. "Tomorrow, we challenge the Battle Palace!"

"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu said enthusiastically before curling up on the floor beside Ash's bed.

Ash rolled over to face the wall and closed his eyes as he felt himself drift off to sleep...

_Seeing how much in love you two appear to be..." The fancily dressed, teal-haired male known as Oscar began, glancing across the path at Ash and May._

_"...We thought we'd offer you a challenge." His similiarly dressed, blonde-haired companion named Andy finished._

_Ash and May glanced at each other in disdain. "Us...in love...?" The two quickly turned away from each other at the thought. "Yeah, that's a laugh." Ash said in apparent disgust._

_"Ah - ah - ah." Oscar responded, wagging his finger. "That's what young lovebirds always say!"_

_"And fighting is the first sign of love." Andy explained in a similiar tone._

_"It's pretty obvious that you two are in the middle of a fight, right?" Oscar said knowingly, pointing at the pair. _

_"That means..." Oscar and Andy began in unison, clasping hands. "You two are in love!"_

_"I don't think so!" Ash and May replied, also in unison._

_"Told you! You answered together!"_

_Ash and May merely grunted in response, still angry at the assumption the couple was making about them._

_"Now...we challenge you to a battle!"_

_"Y-yeah, you mean a Pokemon battle?" Ash replied instantly, firing up at the thought._

_"Yes, but not just any Pokemon battle!" Oscar began._

_"A battle that tests the love of any couple..." Andy continued._

_"A Pokemon Tag Battle!" The two finished together._

_"Yeah, that sounds pretty cool!" Ash said. "A Pokemon Tag Battle...good practice for my next Gym Battle!" He glanced over at May. "May, you want to do it?"_

_"Uh...I guess so." May replied slowly, considering the possibility. "I don't know about any of that 'test your love' stuff, but...why not! I've got a Contest coming up as well!"_

_A few moments later, the two pairs had set up positions around a clearing, with Brock as the referee for their battle._

_"This Pokemon Tag Battle, with the team of Andy and Oscar, challenging the team of Ash and May, will now begin!"_

_"Go, Nidoking! Come on out!" Oscar cried, tossing a Pokeball. A moment later a stout, heavily armored purple-and-white dinosaur emerged._

_"I choose you, Nidoqueen!" Andy called, releasing her Pokemon as well: a similiar-looking blue-and-white dinosaur._

_"Okay...I know they're both part Ground types..." Ash said slowly, grabbing one of his own Pokeballs. "Go, Corphish!"_

_"Corphish!" The crustacean roared, emerging from its Pokeball._

_"Your turn, May." Ash said, turning to his battle partner. _

_"Hmm..." May said slowly, putting a gloved hand to her chin. "I could use Torchic...but, I could use Beautifly as well...but Skitty's good in battle, too..."_

_"Come on! Sometime today, please?" Ash nagged hurriedly. _

_"I'd like to make the right choice, if you don't mind!" May shot back, content in the fact that her ploy to anger Ash had worked. Turning back to the battlefield, she threw a Pokeball of her own. "Go, Skitty!"_

_"Myaaaa!" Skitty cooed, emerging alongside Corphish._

_"Okay..." Oscar began, eyeing his two opponents._

_"We'll see if you made the right choices!" Andy announced happily._

_"Yeah, you'll see all right!" Ash said arrogantly. "Corphish, use Bubblebeam!"_

_"Skitty, use Assist, now!" _

_"Assist? Already?" Max cried from the sidelines in disbelief._

_"Cor...phish-phish-phish!" Corphish cried, loosing a torrent of bubbles from both claws._

_"Myaaaaa!" Skitty roared, firing a barrage of fireballs from its paw._

_"Whoa, that's Ember!" Max said in a worried voice._

_Nidoking braced itself as Bubblebeam streaked toward it, only to be intercepted and nullified by Skitty's Ember._

_"Corphish, cor!" Corphish said angrily, glaring at Skitty, who turned to face him and, in turn, blasted him with Ember._

_"Just what kind of move was that?" Ash demanded angrily, looking at May._

_"Hey, look - " May began in a huff, then stopped for a second. Reconsidering her words, she finished, "Sorry."_

_"Nidoking..."_

_"Dear Nidoqueen..."_

_"Show us the love with your Dynamic Punch!"_

_Nidoking and Nidoqueen both charged up their right arm, charging forward and swinging it at Corphish and Skitty respectively._

_"Skitty, use Blizzard to counter that!" May commanded, leaving Ash momentarily confused by her cooperation._

_"Myaaa!" Skitty cried, shooting a freezing blast of ice and wind of its mouth at the two oncoming Pokemon._

_Both Nidos roared in surprise as they were frozen into a single block of ice._

_"Corphish, Crabhammer, go!" Ash cried, shrugging off May's sudden change in attitude for the moment. _

_"Cooor-phish!" Corphish responded, leaping forward and slamming its claws down on the large block of ice before it, causing it to shatter._

_Nidoking and Nidoqueen staggered backward out of the destroyed ice block before stamping their feet on the ground with renewed vigor._

_"Hmm..." Oscar said softly, glancing at Andy, who nodded back. "Nidoking!"_

_"Nidoqueen!"_

_"Show us the love with your Submission attacks!"_

_Both their Pokemon boomed in agreement, locking arms and feet to become a rolling armored ball, heading straight for Corphish and Skitty._

_"Whoa, I've never seen Submission used like that!" Max said in astonishment. "As a combination..."_

_"Corphish, use Harden, now!" Ash called._

_Corphish stood glaring at the two oncoming Pokemon as his shell became tougher than steel. The double Submission hit head-on, but Corphish didn't budge, struggling against it._

_"Now, use Crabhammer!"_

_"Coooor!" Corphish roared, knocking the pair of Nidos up into the air as they roared in anger._

_"Now, Skitty! Use Assist one more time!" May called._

_"My-yaaaaaaa!" Skitty cried as a purple aura encompassed its body, as well as the Nidos, who hovered in mid-air for a moment before being forcefully slammed into the ground._

_"All right! That's Beautifly's Confusion!" Max cheered._

_"Let's finish this up!" Ash said excitedly, looking over at May._

_"Love to!" She responded happily. "Skitty, Blizzard!"_

_"Corphish, Bubblebeam!"_

_Skitty and Corphish obeyed, and within moments Nidoking and Nidoqueen were lying spread-faced on the ground, unconcious and defeated._

_"Wow. It looks like your love is stronger than we predicted." Oscar said as he and Andy recalled their Pokemon._

_"You're right. I don't see much point in continuing this." Andy added, watching Ash and May closely as they too recalled their battlers._

_"Uh..." Ash and May said together, glancing at each other. _

_"I don't think..." Ash began._

_"...we're really cut out for that." May finished._

_"See? Told you!" The couple said, giggling. "You even spoke together!"_

_Ash and May simply stared at each other, their mouths hanging open slightly, neither one knowing what to say._

"Ash...Ash!" May said, attempting to shake him awake. "Come on, wake up!"

"Huh...wha..." Ash moaned groggily, his eyes slowly cracking open. He was instantly met with the sight of May leaning over him, causing him to do a double-take as he jumped back. "M-May!"

"Yeah...?" She replied confusedly, rising from his bed.

"Boy, you were really out of it, Ash!" Max said from across the room, laughing to himself. "Were you having some kinda weird dream or something?"

"Uh..." Ash muttered, not sure how to respond. "Yeah, I must have." He finished, feigning ignorance.

"Well, it doesn't matter now." Brock said, glancing at Ash with his arms folded across his chest. "You should probably get ready. You did want to challenge the Battle Palace today, right?"

"Oh, yeah!" Ash said, suddenly remembering why they had come here in the first place. "Just give me a few minutes..."

Shortly after, he found himself in the shower, hastily cleaning himself as he rushed to get ready.

_"What was all that about?"_ Ash thought to himself as the cool water washed over him. _"I remember that tag battle with Oscar and Andy back in Hoenn...but that's not how it ended. They beat me and May by a long shot, since we were arguing so much..."_

He continued to ponder his dream as he shifted positions under the stream of water. _"So why..."_

A few moments later, he finally just shrugged. _"Well, whatever...like Brock said, it's not like it matters now, anyway."_

About an hour later, Ash and Pikachu were happily jogging toward the Battle Palace, with May. Max, and Brock not far behind.

"I wonder if we'll see Nate while we're here." Ash asked to noone in particular.

"If he really is a challenger here, he better have someone other than Claydol to help him out." Max commented. "From what I've heard, the Frontier Brain here's got a thing for using Grass Pokemon."

"Really?" Ash said, already beginning to formulate a loose battle plan. "Guess that means I should start with Swellow...oh, wait a minute!" He turned around to face his friends, but didn't stop walking, despite his words. "Did you guys find anything good at the Safari Zone last night?"

Max's face fell somewhat. "Well, we only got to look aroun for a little while, cause it was so late, and May didn't even get any Safari Balls..."

"I didn't know you had to _pay_!" May responded indignantly.

"Well, anyway, I did see a really cool Scyther, but besides that, nothing really special." Max explained, a hint of sadness in his voice.

As the group approached the battle facility, Brock silently noticed the lack of anyone else around, challenger or not.

Once they entered, they were met with a giant room framed with white marble walls, and numerous small exits that mirrored the look of caves, and of course the floor was painted in traditonal style for a Pokemon battle field. Not long after entering the room, an older-looking dark-skinned man with no hair and a long white beard entered as well from one of the caves opposite them, carrying a long staff.

"Welcome!" He boomed across the chamber as Ash quickly moved into the battle square. nearest to them. Pikachu climbed down off his shoulder and instead perched itself on May's head. "I am Palace Maven Spenser!"

"Hey, I'm Ash, and I'm here for a battle!" Ash yelled back as a smaller man filed out of the cave after Spenser, taking a position in the middle of the field: the referee.

"Of course, of course!" Spenser roared jovially. "Then let's not waste any more time, shall we?"

"The battle between Ash and Spenser will now begin! Each side is allowed three Pokemon with no substitutes, and the first trainer to lose all three Pokemon is declared the winner!" The referee paused for a moment as the two trainers stared each other down before lowering both his arms. "...Begin!"

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_Please R&R!_


	4. Chapter 4: Battle Palace Finale

_Second of the joint chapter upload._

_Enjoy!_

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"I believe it is customary for the challenger to choose his Pokemon first?" Spenser said, smirking across the battlefield at his opponent.

Ash nodded knowingly as he grabbed a Pokeball off his waist. "Swellow, I choose you!"

"Mm, interesting choice!" Spenser boomed happily as the multicolored bird emerged from its Pokeball. "Now, Shiftry! To my side!"

"Shift-ry!" The hybrid Grass Pokemon cried, appearing across the battlefield from Swellow.

"Wow! A Shiftry!" Max said in awe as himself, Brock, and May made their way to the side of the battlefield to watch.

"All right, Swellow, start things off with Quick Attack!" Ash cried, gesturing to his Pokemon.

"Swellow!" Swellow responded obediantly, taking off and streaking toward Shiftry.

"Getting a bit hasty, are we?" Spenser said, chuckling to himself. "Shiftry, jump away and use Shadow Ball!"

Shiftry leaped away as Swellow continued flying past it, and fired a large black-and-purple energy ball at it. Swellow didn't see it coming in time, and was hit with it full force, causing it to soar into the stone wall bordering the arena.

"Swellow!" Ash called.

Spenser chuckled again, then nodded to his Shiftry. "Now, hit it with your Quick Attack!"

Shiftry, who hadn't even hit the ground yet, hastily obliged his trainer and shot across the field in mid-air, leaving a brilliant white trail behind him as he charged toward Swellow.

"Swellow, quick! Dodge it!" Ash cried.

Swellow grunted in response and shot off the wall, soaring higher up above the field. Shiftry, however, wasn't fast enough to stop, and ended up slamming into the wall as well.

"Now, Swellow! Wing Attack!"

Swellow looped back around to face Shiftry and sped down toward it as both of its wings began to shine brilliantly. Shiftry took the blow hard from above, causing it to be knocked back down to the ground as Swellow soared away.

"Good job, Swellow!" Ash called encouragingly. "Hit it with another Wing Attack!"

"Swell-ow!" Swellow responded confidently, looping around again to strafe Shiftry a second time.

"That's not going to work twice!" Spenser said, a smile on his face. "Shiftry, Double Team!"

"Shiftry!" Shiftry roared, remaining immobile as copies of itself began to materialize around it. Swellow streaked through one of the fakes, causing it to disappear.

"Good work! Now use Rock Smash!"

"Shiftry! Shi-ftry!" All of the Shiftry clones boomed in unison, slamming their leaf-like hands into the stone floor. Dozens of rock shards shot into the air, temporarily creating an airborne minefield for Swellow.

"Swellow, quick! You use Double Team, too!" Ash commanded.

"Swellow!" Swellow cawed, summoning numerous clones of itself as well. A few of them smashed into the rock fragments and vanished as the remaining few weaved around the falling stones.

"_Two_ Double Teams?" May questioned in disbelief.

"That's something you don't see every day." Brock added.

"Pi-ka." Pikachu agreed, all of them watching the battle in awe.

Swellow and two clones emerged from the chaos as the stone shards fell to the ground harmlessly. "Great job! Now, Swellow, use Wing Attack one more time!"

"Again?" Spenser mumbled under his breath. "Shiftry, use Rock Smash once more!"

"Shift-ry!" Shiftry and its clones roared, slamming their fists into the ground for the second time, causing more rock fragments to become airborne.

"Swellow!" Swellow cried as it streaked through the debris with its clones on either side of it. A rock collided with one, then the other, causing them both to flicker out of existence behind Swellow, who was unphased, and continued shooting toward Shiftry.

"Shiftry! Shadow Ball!"

Shiftry boomed yet again as it fired another Shadow Ball into the air. It wasn't aiming for Swellow, though; the attack veered off behind the Swallow Pokemon and exploded into a larger rock shard, causing dozens of smaller pieces to fall down around Swellow.

"Swellow, dodge it, quick!"

"Swell, swellow!" Swellow cawed, nimbly rolling past the falling shards. A second later, it slammed its wings into Shiftry on the way past before rocketing up into the air again, causing the false Shiftry clones to vanish instantly.

"Now! Finish this up with Aerial Ace!"

"Swellow!" Swellow roared, looping around in mid-air and streaking straight down toward Shiftry.

"Shiftry! Use Quick Attack, straight up!"

"Shift!" Shiftry cried, looking up briefly before leaping into the air toward Swellow.

The two Pokemon collided in mid-air, sending both of them plummeting toward the ground. They landed in a heap, both trainers eager to see which would get up first.

A few moments passed in silence, then Swellow slowly rose from the heap, strutting over to Ash's side of the field in victory, though it was clearly injured.

"Shiftry is unable to battle! Swellow wins this round!" The referee called, briefly raising his right arm.

"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu cooed happily as Brock nodded in agreement.

"You were great out there, Swellow!" Ash said encouragingly. "You ready for the next one?"

"Swell-swellow!" Swellow responded, not wanting to let its trainer down.

"Good job, Shiftry. You tried your best." Spenser said soothingly as he recalled the defeated hybrid. "You and your Swellow make quite the team, Ash. But let's see how well it does against this one...Claydol! To my side!"

"Clay!" Claydol said gruffly, emerging onto the field.

"A...a Claydol?" Max said in wonder. "Just like the one Nate had..."

May nodded at her brother's words. "That's pretty weird..."

Brock remained silent, his eyes locked on the newly summoned Pokemon across from Ash and Swellow.

"Cool, it's another one!" Ash said, oblivious to his friends' concern. "Ready to go, Swellow?"

"Swellow!" Swellow cried, lifting off from the ground at Ash's words.

"Claydol, start us off! Psybeam!" Spenser commanded, gesturing with his staff.

"Do-ol!" Claydol grunted in a low voice, firing twin rainbow-colored beams from its stubby arms.

"Swellow, dodge it and use Quick Attack!"

"Swell!" Swellow cried, soaring into the air high above Claydol's attack. A second later, it swooped down low and slammed into Claydol's thick hide.

"Good job! Hit it with another Quick Attack!"

"Swellow!" Swellow performed yet another midair loop, streaking down to the ground to ram Claydol again.

"Claydol, use Teleport to dodge it!"

Brock hardened his gaze as Swellow flew through thin air, pulling up and narrowly avoiding a collision with the ground. _"Not only is it the same Pokemon...it knows the same move, too...?"_

"Now! Use Rapid Spin from above!" Spenser cried.

Ash gritted his teeth as Claydol reappeared directly above Swellow and slammed into it whilst spinning, sending it crashing into the ground and pinning it in a drill-like position underneath itself. "Swellow! No!"

May and Max gasped silently as they watched Swellow be forcefully drilled into the stone floor.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu cried out in concern.

"Swellow! Come on, get up!" Ash called, quickly seeing that there was no way out for his Pokemon.

"Swell - ow - SWELL-OW!" Swellow cried harshly in pain.

"Now, Claydol! Finish up with Hyper Beam!"

Ash glanced across the field in a mix of surprise and anger. It was clear that Swellow was beaten, why did he have to use another attack?

"DOOOOL!" Claydol bellowed, leaping up into the air and fired another set of beams from its arms, this time bright orange ones. They smashed into Swellow hard, netting one final cry out of it before it fell unconcious.

"Swellow is unable to battle! Claydol wins!" The referee declared, raising his left arm.

"Swellow...return." Ash grunted softly, recalling his heavily wounded Pokemon. "You were awesome out there. Take a nice, long rest." He said quietly, replacing the Ball on his waist.

"Who's it going to be next, Ash?" Spenser called happily from across the chamber.

Ash merely glared at him in response, the majority of his respect for the Frontier Brain now gone. After considering his options for a brief moment, he turned to the sidelines. "Pikachu! You up for this, buddy?"

"Pi, pikachu!" Pikachu responded passionately, eager to get revenge for its wounded comrade. It quickly clambered down from May's head and ran across to the battlefield on all fours.

"Ah! Your prize Pikachu, I see." Spenser said. "This should make for an interesting match, indeed."

Ash couldn't recall ever mentioning Pikachu to Spenser, but quickly shrugged off the feeling.

"Pika!" Pikachu spat back angrily, glowering at Spenser's Claydol.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

"That seems to be your star attack today." Spenser commented, mostly to himself, as Pikachu took off running toward Claydol. He did nothing as Pikachu slammed into Claydol's chest and continued going.

"Now, Quick Attack again!" Ash called, intentionally copying his strategy from before.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, jumping and rebounding off the wall, effectively turning itself around without losing momentum.

"Claydol, you know what to do!"

"Clay!" Claydol murmured in acknowledgement, disappearing into thin air as Pikachu dashed through it.

"Pika..." Pikachu growled, stopping and looking around the arena, anxious to find its opponent.

"Now, Claydol!"

"Doooool!" Claydol bellowed, reappearing above Pikachu and initiating a Rapid Spin as it fell.

"Pikachu, don't move!" Ash ordered suddenly.

"Pika?" Pikachu shot back incredulously as Claydol smashed into its back, pinning it to the ground in a manner similiar to Swellow.

"Ash, what do you think you're doing?" Max cried. "Pikachu can't stand up to that kind of attack!"

Ash merely grinned.

Suddenly, sparks began shooting across Claydol's bloated body. Within seconds, its limbs had frozen up completely, causing it to topple over onto the ground, freeing Pikachu from its attack before it had even really begun.

"What is this?" Spenser exclaimed in surprise.

"That's Pikachu's Static ability!" Ash explained, a hint of triumph in his voice. "Way to go, buddy! Now hit him with Iron Tail!"

"Pii-ika!" Pikachu cried, regaining its vigor and it leaped into a frontflip, slamming its glowing white tail into Claydol's chest on the way out of it.

"Dooool!" Claydol moaned in agony as Pikachu slammed his tail into its chest, again and again.

"Claydol, quickly! Teleport away!"

"Claaay - !" Claydol cried in-between strikes from Pikachu, vanishing into thin air for the third time. He quickly reappeared on the other side of the field, still toppled over on his side and unable to move.

"Pikachu, go get him! Use Volt Tackle!" Ash roared, forgetting that the Electric-type move wouldn't do anything against Claydol.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried in agreement, clearly forgetting the type rule as well. He began charging toward his opponent, loosing a constant chant of "Pikapikapikapikapika!"

Moments before impact, however, Claydol vanished yet again.

"Wh-what?" Ash cried in astonishment, looking up into the air to see a rematerialized Claydol, now free of Static's paralyzing effects. "Pikachu, above you!"

Pikachu couldn't stop in time due to the momentum of his charge. Claydol slammed into him from above, causing the yellow aura around him to vanish and pinning him to the ground again.

"That's good, Claydol! Now, Rapid Spin!"

"Claaaaay - dooool!" Claydol bellowed, drilling Pikachu into the marble floor beneath him.

"Pi-ka...chu...!" Pikachu moaned in a strained voice.

"Pikachu! No!" Ash cried. None of Pikachu's move would allow him to get out of it, and Static wouldn't work on Claydol a second time.

May, Max, and Brock stared on in horror as Pikachu's strength slowly ebbed away under Claydol's brutal assault. After a while, May was forced to look away, unable to bear looking at Pikachu suffering any longer.

"Pi...ka..." Pikachu grunted in desperation, struggling to push the larger Pokemon off his back, but to no avail.

"Now, Claydol...! Use Hyper Beam!" Spenser ordered.

"No!" Ash exclaimed, reaching out toward Pikachu.

"Do-ol!" Claydol boomed, halting his Rapid Spin and leaping up into the air above Pikachu. He lingered there for a moment, locking eyes with the Mouse Pokemon, who looked back up at him with pleading eyes. Then, he fired the twin beams.

The bright orange streaks smashed into Pikachu brutally, throwing him across the field with the blast and landing him at Ash's feet, severely injured and unconcious.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Claydol wins again!" The referee called, raising his left arm again.

"So, Ash, which of your remaining Pokemon is strong enough to take on my Claydol?" Spenser asked as Claydol made his way to his side.

"Pikachu..." Ash murmured, holding back tears. "I-I'm sorry..."

"What was that?"

Ash summoned his courage, then looked up and glared Spenser straight in the eye. "I'm not using any more Pokemon. I'm through battling here." He paused a moment as his companions gasped. "If this is how you fight your battles, then I don't even want your Frontier Symbol."

Without another word, Ash scooped up Pikachu in his arms and walked out of the arena.

"A-Ash! Wait a minute!" May cried, glancing briefly across the room at Spenser before taking off after her friend, along with Brock and Max.

* * *

_I've already been told that I screwed up with Shadow Ball damaging Swellow in this chapter. I always try to stay on top of that, but I guess I slipped up this once._

_Please R&R!_


	5. Chapter 5: Toward the Horizon

_Been a little while. I know. Sorry!_

* * *

"Ash!" May called out again, chasing after him alongside Brock and Max as he ran out of the Battle Palace and continued down the road, his pace quickening as he heard his friends following him. "Wait!"

"Ash!" Brock echoed.

"Come back!" Max cried.

Ash continued running for a moment, then, gradually, he began to slow down, finally coming to a stop in the middle of the street. He was still holding Pikachu's unconscious body, and his head was bowed slightly.

"...Are you okay?" Brock asked slowly, looking firmly at the back of Ash's head.

There was no answer, other than the slightly muffled sound of the young boy's sniffling as he looked down at his companion.

"A-Ash...?" May said slowly, tentatively stepping forward and peeking around to see the front of his face. She recoiled slightly, softening her expression, when she saw tears cascading down his cheeks.

"It's..." He began slowly, in a small voice. "It's my fault! I'm the one who made them battle!"

"What - ?" May began, but he was already running again, sprinting down the street and around the corner. "Ash, wait!"

May took off running after him, and before Brock or Max could follow, they were interrupted by Spenser's voice from behind.

"Excuse me, could I speak to you two for a moment?" He said politely, stepping out of the Battle Palace with staff in hand.

"I - ah - " Brock stuttered, glancing between the Frontier Brain and May's shrinking form for a moment.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll make this fast." Spenser assured him, grinning. "I just wanted to ask if your friend there planned on coming back for a rematch sometime soon?"

"Wh - " Brock started, still partially distracted by Ash's behavior a minute ago. Max turned to face the old man as well as Brock finished, "What?"

"I don't mean to intrude. I just got the feeling that he was angry with the outcome of our battle just now, and I didn't want him to walk away from here with a bad impression of this facility." Spenser explained pleasantly, seemingly oblivious to his actions in the battle mere minutes ago.

"Look, if you don't know why Ash stormed out of there just now, I don't really know what to tell you. I really don't know if we're coming back or not." Brock said hurriedly. "But if you ask me, I'd have to say no."

"Ah." Spenser said, seemingly taken aback slightly by Brock's words. He didn't speak for a moment. "I see. That's unfortunate, but I suppose that's his decision."

He turned away and retreated back into the Palace. Once he was out of sight, Brock turned to Max, who nodded back at him. The two turned away from the facility and took off running after their friends.

Ash wasn't even sure where he was going, but it didn't really matter to him, either. He simply ran, following the street wherever it took him, cradling Pikachu in his arms the whole time. He'd never felt this terrible before - due to his poor battling, two of his Pokemon ended up severely injured. He didn't know what to do at this point, so he did the only thing he could do - run.

Eventually, though, the road came to an end. He stopped at the edge of the street, which branched off both left and right, leading down to the rest of the city. The street happened to end on a ledge, walled off with a metal fence, which gave him a decent view of the rest of the city.

"Ash!" May called again, but Ash didn't react when he heard her voice. He simply continued staring out over the top of the railing. He felt her run up beside him on his right side. "Why'd you run off like that?"

He turned his face away from hers. "I - I wanna be alone right now."

"Huh...?" May breathed. Those words didn't come from Ash's mouth very often. _"That battle must have shaken him up worse than I thought..."_

She continued looking at him for a few more seconds, but when he remained silent, she shifted her gaze to Pikachu, still lying faceup in his arms. "Is it okay?"

Ash didn't respond for a long time. The two stood there in the silence, letting the brisk coastal breeze sweep past them for what seemed like an eternity.

Then, Ash turned and looked May in the eye, allowing her to see the tears brimming up in his own eyes. "I - I don't know."

May took another step toward him, raising her right hand and stroking Pikachu's fur a couple of times. "It...looks okay. Just tired, maybe."

Ash felt a strange sensation wash over him as he watched her analyze Pikachu. He couldn't explain it, but he suddenly felt that it was okay to talk to May about this.

"It's...my fault, you know." Ash said softly, causing her to look at him in confusion. "I'm the one who asked Pikachu to fight that guy. Swellow, too."

"Ash - "

"I just wanted to beat him." Ash continued. "But look..." He said, his voice beginning to get louder. "Look what happened!"

"How can you say that this's your fault?" May asked incredulously.

"I told them to battle!" Ash said in frustration. "I was the one giving them orders, but - I couldn't help them - "

"You were just battling like you always do!" May shot back. "If this is anyone's fault, it's Spenser's! His Claydol went way overboard with those Hyper Beams - "

"But that's what I'm saying!" Ash exclaimed, the tears beginning to flow again. "If I was a better trainer - I could've gotten them out of it - "

"Ash, listen to me!" May cut in, grabbing him by the shoulders and spinning him around to face her. "You didn't do anything wrong! You couldn't have done anything different to help them, and I don't think Swellow and Pikachu are blaming you, either!"

"Yeah...but..." Ash trailed off as Pikachu slowly came to in his arms.

"Pi...ka..." Pikachu mumbled quietly.

"Huh?" May said, looking down at it in concern.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried, happy to see that it was all right. His face quicky fell, however, as he thought back to what happened during the battle. "I...I'm sorry, buddy. I thought that I knew how to beat it...but..."

"Pi-ka, pi-ka-chu." Pikachu said softly, shaking his head as he looked up at his trainer.

"But...I..."

Ash was cut off, however, when a blinding flash of light signified Swellow's forced emergence as it appeared, perched on the railing that overlooked the other side of town. It still appeared to be exhausted, as well as significantly injured.

"Swellow!"

"Huh? Swellow...?" Ash said slowly as May lowered her hands from his shoulders.

"Swellow! Swell-ow!"

"You guys..." Ash said soberly as a solemn grin appeared on May's face. "I'm so...sorry..."

"Pika..."

Ash continued to stand there for a moment, grateful for the support of his Pokemon. He looked up at Swellow, who looked back at him knowingly before he called it back into its Pokeball. Pikachu, also exhausted, fell asleep again not long after, leaving Ash and May standing on the ledge as the midday sun hovered low in the sky.

"So...what are we gonna do now?" Max asked, looking around the room at his companions. All four of them were back in their room in the Pokemon Center, where Ash had dropped off Pikachu and Swellow for recuperation.

"I dunno..." Ash replied.

"I guess we should head to Crysanthemum Island...for now, at least." Brock suggested. "You sure you don't want to challenge Spenser again?"

"Yeah." Ash responded instantly. "Well, at least not for a while. I know I need his Symbol to complete the Battle Frontier...but still..."

Brock nodded knowingly. "Well, either way, we don't really need to stay here any longer." He rose from his seat on the foot of one of the beds. "I guess we should go and get our tickets for the ferry, then. Anyone else want to come?"

"Sure!" Max responded happily. May was momentarily confused by his sudden excitement, but as he walked out the door alongside Brock, she heard him eagerly mention the words 'Safari Zone'. She giggled as Ash rose from his seat as well.

"I think I'm gonna go check on Pikachu and Swellow." He said, heading for the door.

"Okay. I guess I'll come, too." She said, shrugging. "Better than sitting around here.

They went down to the lobby, where Ash asked for the status of his Pokemon. He was told that they still had a few minutes left before they were ready.

Ash grunted as he sat down on an empty bench hugging the wall of the building. May promptly sat took a seat next to him.

"Hey, May..." Ash started slowly after a few moments of silence. "Listen..."

May turned to face him questioningly as he struggled to form the words.

"I just...wanted to say thanks. You know, for before." He said, blushing slightly for reasons unknown to him. "You really snapped me out of...well, myself."

May smiled lightly at his words. "Sure, anytime. I just hope Pikachu and Swellow are all right."

Ash nodded. "Yeah. Me too. I still can't believe that he would do something like that...I haven't seen anyone battle like that in a long time."

"I know..."

There was another short moment of silence between the two.

"So, I bet you're gonna have fun at that beach later on." He said, attempting to start another conversation. "You know, when we head down there to catch the boat."

"Huh? Oh, I don't know..." She replied, staring at the floor. "I don't really feel like going to the beach anymore...you know?"

Ash most certainly did not know. He had never known May to turn down an opportunity to go to the beach. "Uh..."

Just then, however, he noticed one of the Pokemon Center's Chansey rolling a cart out of the back room with two Pokeballs on it. "Hey...!" He said slowly, jumping up from the bench and crossing the room to retrieve his Pokemon.

May stood up to follow after him, but stopped as she watched him release Swellow and Pikachu from their Balls. Swellow cawed happily as it emerged on the ground next to him, and Pikachu rapidly shook itself off and stretched before filling the empty position on Ash's shoulder.

As she watched him grin and laugh as he spoke to his two companions, she felt something stir deep within her. She continued to watch him for a few seconds, unable to move or shift her gaze as she came to grips with this new feeling.

Before she knew it, however, Ash had already returned to her side. "Hey, uh, May?"

"W-what?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thought you looked a little out of it for a second." He replied, recalling Swellow into its Ball. "C'mon, let's go back upstairs."

And then he was walking away again, and the feeling was gone, leaving May slightly confused as to what exactly had just happened.

* * *

_Please R&R! _


	6. Chapter 6: There and Back Again

_We are up to chapter 16 on the other site. Hopefully I can catch up on here soon. __

* * *

The next morning, the four of them, along with Pikachu, boarded the ferry bound for Chrysanthemum Island across the bay. Ash was still slightly upset by the entire encounter at the Battle Palace, but had managed to push it out of his mind, for the most part.

Also, true to her word, May ended up refusing the chance to visit the beach before they left the city. When asked why, she simply replied that the 'urge had passed', ignoring Max's snide comment that he never knew that she used the beach as a bathroom.

Truthfully, though, seeing Ash get so depressed over his brutal loss to Spenser had, for some reason, temporarily replaced her love of the beach with concern for her friend: She felt bad for him, and didn't think it was right for her to go off and have fun when she knew how bad he was feeling.

Fuchsia City had long since disappeared from the rear horizon. Brock had taken position on the tanning deck, flirting with any girl who would pay attention to him, while Max had taken to playing with Pikachu, the two chasing each other across the front deck and through the cabin halls.

Ash, however, was leaning over the edge of the railing on the sundeck, halfheartedly watching Swellow fly around above him. Part of him was still thinking about the battle with Spenser, but the other part just wanted to forget about the whole ordeal.

May, on the other hand, had released Squirtle and Combusken, and was watching them practice with each other across the deck from Ash. Every few minutes, she would glance over at him, trying to decide if she should go and talk to him again, fairly certain that he was still upset about what happened back in the city.

Eventually, her decision was made for her, as Combusken threw its head back and shot a Fire Spin skyward, initially planning to have Squirtle freeze it with Ice Beam. But Swellow flew into it by mistake, haphazardly catching the bird Pokemon on fire.

"Swelllll-ow!" Swellow screeched as it streaked through the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. Many people turned and stared in shock, and Combusken and Squirtle's eyes widened in horror.

"Huh?" Ash muttered, turning when he heard Swellow's cry. When he saw it blazing across the sky, arcing toward the sea, he snapped to attention immediately. "Swellow - ?"

"Ash! I'm so sorry!" May said quickly as she rose from her seat, Ash running up beside her, his eyes locked on Swellow.

"Combusken!" Combusken added in apology, all of them running over to the opposite railing as Swellow plummeted into the water.

"Swellow!" Ash cried, putting one leg up on the railing, preparing to jump over it.

"Ash! No!" May urged, grabbing his shoulders in an attempt to hold him back.

"L-let go of me!" Ash shot back, struggling against her as a splashing sound echoed across the air. Steam began to rise from the splash a moment later. "SWELLOW!"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle said bravely, attempting to scurry up the railing itself. However, its small size proved this to be a fruitless endeavor. "Squirtle, squirtle!"

"Combusken..." Combusken chirped softly, staring at the steam rising from the water.

"Ash, stop!" May said desperately, still attempting to prevent him from jumping over into the water.

"May! Let me go!" Ash responded urgently. "Swellow's down there! I have to - "

Suddenly, a green Pokeball with black webbing embedded over it soared past Ash and May's heads, cracking open a second later and plunging a glowing white streak into the water before flying back to its owner.

"Craaaaw!" The Pokemon roared, emerging from the surface of the water: a large crustacean, with a golden star atop its elongated head, which also bore two blue stripes across it.

"Dive, Crawdaunt!" A male's voice rang out from behind them. "Find that Swellow!"

Ash slowly let himself down from the railing as the Crawdaunt quickly obliged, allowing May to loosen her grip on him as well. They both watched the surface of the water, along with Combusken and Squirtle.

Then, the Crawdaunt emerged from the water just as quickly as it had dove, clutching an unconscious Swellow in its claws.

"Swellow!" Ash cried happily, hastily grabbing its Pokeball and recalling it. "Rest up in there for a while...okay?"

"Good job, Crawdaunt! Return!" The voice echoed again, causing Ash and May to turn as the Crawdaunt was recalled into its Net Ball.

They were met with the sight of a young man, a little older than Ash, by the look of him. He wore a plain, dark brown T-shirt with a sleeveless black vest over it, and black sweatpants to match, three Pokeballs clipped on to each leg, and messy brown hair that completed the look. He replaced the Nest Ball on his pants and looked to Ash. "Hey, your Swellow alright?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I think so...thanks to you. Thanks a lot for helping us out."

"No problem." He shrugged, holding out a hand. "Name's Trey."

"I'm Ash." Ash replied, shaking the boy's hand.

"My name's May."

"Hey, Trey!" Max's voice rang across the deck as he emerged from the ship's interior, with Pikachu in tow. "Why'd you run off like that - "

"Max?" May said inquisitively. "You know this guy?"

"Huh? Oh, hey, sis." Max replied, looking up at her. "I just met him onboard the ship. Get this - he a specialized Dark trainer!"

"Really?" Ash said, looking him over. "I never really got how you can train just one type of Pokemon."

"Well, there's a lot of variety within the types." Trey reasoned, as Pikachu ran over and climbed onto Ash's shoulder. "Oh, so that's _your_ Pikachu?"

"Yeah." Ash replied, nodding.

"At first I thought it belonged to him." Trey explained, jerking his head in Max's direction. "Then he told me he isn't even a trainer yet...then I heard your Swellow screaming, and I figured I should find out what's up."

"Combus-ken..." Combusken mumbled, still upset at itself for what it had done.

"Yeah, you really helped us out back there." Ash said gratefully. He thought for a moment before continuing. "So, you're a trainer, too? Why're you heading to Chrysanthemum Island?"

Trey shook his head. "I'm not. This ferry's bound for Cinnibar Island as well, and Pallet Town after that. I'm heading for the Battle Tower near Tohjo Falls, so I figured hiking from Pallet'd be the quickest way."

Ash recognized the Battle Facility's name. "Battle Tower? So, you're doing the Battle Frontier, too?"

"Yep. Spenser, the head of the Battle Palace, he's a friend of mine. He hooked me up with Scott and let me run it as a favor." He stared at Ash for a second. "You're running it, too?"

Ash frowned, a dark glint in his eye. "Yeah, but I think you should talk to your 'friend'. I challenged him yesterday, and he was way too tough on my Pokemon."

Trey frowned, furrowing his brow as he recalled his recent battle. "That can't be right. I actually got his symbol the other day, but after that he said he was closing down the Palace for a little while for a vacation..."

Ash's gaze darkened. "That's not what we saw. Are you sure Spenser's not there?"

"Of course he's sure." A frail, old voice drifted around the corner, as a familiar bald man stepped out, staff in hand. "I'm right here, aren't I?"

Ash, May, Max, and even Pikachu gasped audibly and did a double-take.

"What the - ?"

"Spenser?"

"Pika pika!"

"Yes, yes, it's me." Spenser replied jovially. "Now then, come and tell me what is happening back at my facility."

By the time they had finished explaining Ash's battle to him, Brock had returned from the tanning deck, and had quickly been brought up to speed by his companions. Trey remained there as well, listening intently to the entire story.

Spenser's normally cheery face had darkened considerably. "I see...it would seem that someone has taken it upon themselves to take advantage of me being away."

Trey crossed his arms and looked to his friend. "Sure sounds like _something's_ going on back there."

Spenser looked to Ash. "I humbly apologize for the way you were treated. This is not right. The Battle Frontier is supposed to be for elite trainers only. I will be on the first boat back to Fuchsia City once we make port, and I will deal with this...situation."

"No, it's fine, it isn't your fault." Ash assured him. "But, would you mind if we came back with you, too? I've kind of got a score to settle with him, myself..."

"Of course." Spenser obliged at once. "Trey? Will you be accompanying us as well?"

Trey shrugged. "Sure, why not? And, who knows, having me around might actually come in handy."

May giggled as she recalled her Pokemon before they all made their way over to the edge of the deck. Leaning over the railing, Ash could see Chrysanthemum Island already coming into view.

"Man, is this what it's like being a Frontier Brain?" 'Spenser' moaned, stretching out on the bed in his personal quarters while his six Pokemon grouped up around him on the floor.

"Ditto?"

"Aaah, be quiet." He shot back. "I know I signed up for this and everything. Just didn't expect it to be so tough."

"Ditto!"

"Yeah, that's true. Even if we did only get one trainer today...boy, was she a trainer. And her Pokemon were something else, too."

He grunted softly to himself as he put a hand to his forehead, feeling the familiar tingle that told him his false identity was still intact.

"I've gotta say, it was pretty smart of us to transform you into a Staryu, then use Camouflage when I bumped into Spenser as he was leaving town a few days ago." Nate bragged, laying his duplicate staff down on the bed. "I wonder if we could've copied the stick, too..."

"Ditto?"

"Ah, doesn't matter now, anyway." Nate replied, shrugging as he rose from the bed. "Sure wish there was some way to get out of this disguise, it still feels pretty weird."

He knew, of course, that Camouflage was never meant to be used on a human in the first place, but it didn't much matter to him, either. Nate, along with his six Ditto, had successfully taken over the Battle Palace, and personally, he couldn't wait until Spenser came back and saw what he had done with the place.

* * *

_R&R!_


	7. Chapter 7: Return to Fuchsia

_Some of these chapters right now are shorter than usual. I am aware of this, and I blame it on the transitonary fillerness of them._

* * *

The group hadn't wasted any time once their ship made port on Chrysanthemum Island. They never even left the docks, opting to simply wait until the return ship was ready to leave, then quickly purchasing their tickets and boarding the nigh-identical ship.

It was nearing dusk as they hung around on the ship's front sundeck, nobody in much of a mood to do anything except wait as their boat slowly made its way back to the coastal city.

"So, uh..." Trey began slowly, breaking the silence that had crept up on them, as they sat there in the amber light of the rapidly darkening sky. "Do you guys actually have a plan for dealing with this fake? Once you get back to the Palace."

"Oh, I don't think we'll have that much trouble." Spenser replied calmly. "To tell you the truth, I'm far more interested in learning how this imposter managed to pass off as me in the first place."

"You seem pretty confident." Brock noted, glancing at the aging man.

"Well, of course!" Spenser responded happily. "Do I have reason not to be?"

"It just seems that this guy had to be pretty crafty to not only take control of the Battle Palace, but manage to impersonate you as well." Brock explained. "He seems like more than your average criminal to me."

"Perhaps you are right. Perhaps you are not. Either way, worrying about it will not change the outcome."

Brock was stunned by this response, not sure what to say to counter Spenser's argument.

"Hey, Trey, you said you were on your way to the Battle Tower, didn't you?" Ash asked, speaking up as well.

Trey nodded in response. "Yeah, but a little trip out of the way like this isn't that big a deal."

Ash shook his head. "No, I just meant that you must've already won Spenser's Symbol, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I battled him just a few days ago, actually." Trey replied. "My Pupitar, Houndoom, and Crawdaunt against his Shiftry, Claydol, and Venusaur."

"What?" Ash cried in surprise. "The guy I fought used a Shiftry and Claydol, too!"

Spenser looked to Ash for a moment. "Now, isn't that interesting."

"Are your Pokemon...?"

"Oh, yes, they're all with me now." Spenser said jovially, patting his waist. "This imposter must have obtained the same Pokemon as me, as well."

Brock wasn't convinced that easily. "Wait a minute. You guys remember that strangely nice guy we ran into outside of Fuchsia City?"

"Oh, that's right!" Max responded instantly. "That guy Nate! He had a Claydol, and he said he was training for the Battle Palace!"

"That's right." Brock said, nodding.

"You think he's the one who battled Ash back there...?" May asked tentatively.

"Pika..." Pikachu chimed in, staring at the deck from atop Ash's shoulder.

Ash turned his head to face the horizon, where Fuchsia City was starting to come into view, framed against the twilight sky. His thoughts drifted back to the battle he'd had the previous morning, when he was forced to watch Swellow, and then Pikachu, fall to the man's brutal battle techniques. _"Nate..."_

When they made port in Fuchsia City, they disembarked the ship quickly, Spenser in the lead with Ash not far behind.

"Wow, it's getting pretty late..." Max noted, staring at the now-black sky.

"All right." Ash started, turning to face his friends. "I want you guys to go wait for us at the Pokemon Center."

"What?" Max cried indignantly.

"Ash, no! We're going with you!" May added.

"Do you really think that's a good idea, Ash?" Brock asked, caution in his voice.

Ash nodded to him. "Yeah, I do. None of you have any reason to go with us."

Spenser nodded as well. "The boy has a point. I'm not sure what will happen in there, but the less of that go, the better; I'm sure of that much."

"B-but - !" May started, but was cut off by Trey stepping between her and Ash.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them." Trey assured Ash. "You two just go and get rid of that fake at the Palace."

Ash and Spenser nodded together this time before taking off down the street into the darkened city.

Trey turned to face May, Max, and Brock. May and May looked as if they were about to say something, but Trey held up a hand to stop them.

"I know what you're saying, but don't worry about it. Besides, if they're not back soon, we can always go after them."

Max nodded slowly, staring at the ground, clearly frustrated. May remained staring after Ash for a few seconds before bowing her head in agreement as well.

Ash and Spenser were silent as they sprinted through the pitch-black city streets toward the Battle Palace. Ash was surprised at the endurance of the older man, easily keeping pace with Ash and even pulling ahead every now and then.

Finally, they reached the commandeered facility. The duo quickly ascended the stone steps in front of the building and entered.

Before long, they had arrived at the gigantic marble room that Ash had battled the fake Spenser in. Not surprisingly, the room was empty. The lights flickered on as they ran to the relative center of the chamber.

"Hey! Where are you!" Ash boomed, his voice echoing off the walls of the stone room.

Silence.

"Come out! We know what you're doing here!" Ash continued, glancing around the room rapidly, checking the multiple exits that branched out of the chamber.

Slowly, softly, footsteps came into audible range. Ash and Spenser quickly pinpointed which tunnel they were coming from, staring at the long, dark cave as a visual double of Spenser emerged from the blackness.

"Is that so? Well, darn." The lookalike said in mock-frustration. "I guess I won't be needing this dumb old disguise anymore, then."

The second Spenser's body began flickering before their eyes, and, gradually, the tall, lanky figure of the man Ash had met in the field outside the city came into view in his place.

"Nate!" Ash roared angrily.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu added, growling at the imposter.

"We thought it was you! What do you think you're doing here?"

"You actually figured it out?" Nate replied, his voice changing back to normal as well. "Color me impressed. And I thought it was fairly obvious what I was doing here."

"Hmm." Spenser said, thinking deeply to himself as he watched Nate speak. "That disguise. That was Camouflage, was it not?"

"Why, yes, it was. Nice eyes, old man." Nate praised, chuckling to himself.

"Well, this was a grand old charade, I imagine, but now I'm afraid you must turn the Palace back over to me."

"And why would I do a stupid thing like that?" Nate shot back, glaring at Spenser from across the chamber. "I worked way too hard on this whole thing to just give it back to you."

"Oh, I had hoped that you wouldn't say that." Spenser mused. "You see, I don't plan on leaving until you've agreed to my request. Therefore..."

"Therefore, nothing, old man." Nate spat. "I agree with you on one thing, though: I certainly can't let you two leave here, now that you know what's going on here and everything."

"Is that so?" Spenser said jovially, as Pikachu leaped down from Ash's shoulder.

"Pi-kaaa..." Pikachu growled, getting into a battle position.

"Growl all you want, little guy." Nate joked, leering at Pikachu. "Won't do you much good after a second."

Suddenly, a Butterfree streaked across the room from the cave behind Nate, loosing a trail of thick blue powder in its wake.

"Ah...that's Sleep Powder...!" Ash cried, covering his mouth with his arm, his eyelids quickly growing heavy.

"Pi...ka...!" Pikachu rasped, before tumbling over onto the ground, unconscious.

The attack appeared to have taken even Spenser by surprise, and he was out cold on the floor shortly before Ash. Within seconds, both trainers were lying in a heap on the marble floor, Pikachu among them as well.

Butterfree looped back around and landed on the floor next to Nate as it transformed back into Ditto.

"Good work." Nate briefly praised before hefting the two trainers in front of him over his shoulders. "Let's get these two to a proper holding cell, shall we?"

Trey didn't have too much difficulty leading May, Max, and Brock back to the Pokemon Center, even in the dark. Once they arrived, he looked to the three of them questioningly.

"So, what now? You guys want to wait here for a while? Get a room?"

Brock considered this for a moment. "Yeah, we probably should check ourselves in again. We're definitely not going to be able to get another ferry until at least tomorrow."

Trey nodded. "All right. Sounds good to me."

The four of them began making their way across the lobby, which, at this point in the night, was mostly empty, save for a couple of trainers presumably waiting for their Pokemon to be healed.

However, May found that she couldn't bring herself to go any further. She remained at the entrance, one hand clasped over her chest, her eyes locked to the floor.

Max noticed her lack of movement before too long. He turned around to face his older sister. "Uh, May? Come on, we're getting a room."

She didn't respond. She simply remained there, making no indication whatsoever that she had heard a word he just said.

"May?" Max repeated, causing Brock and Trey to turn around as well. Max took a step toward her. "What's wrong - "

"Sorry." She cut in sharply, not allowing her brother to finish. She whirled around on the spot and took off running, heading back into the dark city. As the automatic doors closed behind her, her voice drifted through them: "Go ahead! I'll be back!"

"May - !" Max started, but Trey cut in front of him.

"Do what she said. Get a room and wait here." He took a step forward, causing the doors to slide open again. "I'll go and get her for you."

Then he was gone as well, leaving Max and Brock standing there, both of them unable to shrug off a slight feeling of helplessness as the sliding doors closed in front of them.

* * *

_R&R!_


	8. Chapter 8: Factory Phony

_Time for another batch of updates!_

* * *

"U-ugh..." Ash groaned, slowly opening his eyes. He saw only a rocky surface hanging ominously from above him. He blinked, quickly realizing that he was lying on his back.

He shot up from the ground, jumping to his feet and scanning the area. He was in a small stone cell, with a small stone fence granting him a view of a similar room opposite his, and a hallway that continued on in both directions.

"Where...am I...?" He grunted softly, walking to the iron fence and looking around the area for Spenser. It was then he noticed that Pikachu wasn't with him, either.

"Pikachu!" He cried, his eyes darting around the cell and down both sides of the hallway. "PIKACHU!"

He gripped the iron bars for a moment in frustration, then he thought of his other Pokemon. _"Or are they gone, too...?"_

He reached a hand down to his belt, only to find that all of his Pokeballs were gone, as well. Sighing helplessly, he slowly retreated back into the cell, leaned against the marble wall, and closed his eyes.

"Hey! Wait up!" Trey cried, calling after May, who was still running, further down the street. "May!"

She didn't respond, instead turning the corner and disappearing out of sight. Gritting his teeth, Trey continued his pursuit, swinging around the corner a few seconds behind her.

He saw the large Battle Palace now looming over him, even through the darkness that permeated the city. Locking his eyes on May, he ducked his head and sprinted forward toward her.

He caught up to her right in front of the facility, a few yards from the front entrance. Reaching out, he grabbed her roughly by the arm, forcing her to stop.

"Hold on a minute!" Trey urged as she turned to face him, her hand still holding her back by the arm. "You think you're just gonna rush in there without a plan?"

"We don't even know what's going on in there! How am I supposed to - "

"Look, just calm down for a second." Trey said, releasing his hold on her. She continued to look at him for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"...Okay. What are we going to do?"

"Like you said, we've got no clue what's happening in there. But I know we've got to at least be prepared - if he's trapped those two somehow, he could get us without much trouble."

May nodded knowingly. "Yeah..."

"So, knowing that, you ready now?"

May thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. Let's go!"

Trey grinned lightly as she turned and ran forward, disappearing into the darkness before them. "I've always heard it's a bad idea to seperate a man from his girl...but I guess it works the other way, too." Chuckling to himself, he sprinted forward into the Palace after her.

Once they arrived in the main chamber, May glanced around the room, eyeing a few of the smaller cave exits. "Ash! Spenser!"

"You guys here?" Trey added, cupping his hands around his mouth as he yelled.

A few seconds later, both of them shifted their gaze to the largest tunnel, the one the fake Spenser had emerged from the first time they'd seen him. However, this time, they saw only Nate walking across the chamber.

"Wha - Nate?" May cried in disbelief.

"So this is that Nate guy your friend was talking about." Trey said, dropping his hands to his sides. "You've got a lot of nerve, taking over the Battle Palace!"

"Yeah, yeah." Nate replied, shrugging off his words. "I've heard it all before, trust me. Let me guess, you're here for your friends, right?"

"Where's Ash?" May cried fiercely. "What'd you do to him?"

"Whoa, cool down there." Nate replied, seemingly taken aback by her tone. "I'll let you see your friends - but you've gotta battle me for them, first."

"I don't think so!" May shot back.

"Well, that's too bad, then." Nate said sadly, snapping his fingers. Butterfree floated up beside him in an instant.

May glanced at the Butterfly Pokemon. "What is..."

"It'd be a real shame to have to capture you all the same I did your friends. Really, where's the fun in just using Sleep Powder on all of your enemies?" Nate said mockingly.

"You _do_ have them!" May cried angrily. "Let them - "

Trey held out his arm, motioning for her to stop. Staring Nate down, Trey began, "Fine. I'll battle you, you lousy fake."

"Oh, goody." Nate said, gesturing for Butterfree to fall back.

"What are you - ?" May began.

"Trust me." Trey whispered back, taking his place in the trainer's square on the battlefield, as Nate did the same on the opposite side.

"I hope a 3 on 3 is all right with you?" Nate asked, smirking.

"Whatever you want."

"Good." Nate said, grabbing a Pokeball from inside his coat and tossing it. "Go, Donphan!"

"Phaaaa!" Donphan roared, emerging from the Pokeball onto the battlefield.

"A - a Donphan?" May said worriedly. "Just like Ash's..."

Trey reached down to his pants, grabbing the third Ball down on the right leg. "Let's go, Murkrow!"

"Muuuur!" Murkrow cried, materializing on the battlefield as well.

May spared the Pokemon a glance; if the circumstances were different, she'd want to enter the new Pokemon into her Pokedex. As it was, though, she was just eager to find her friend.

"Quick, Murkrow! Use Haze!" Trey called.

"Muur-krow!" Murkrow cawed, exhaling a ridiculous amount of thick smoke from its beak. The large chamber was quickly filled with the stuff, obscuring Nate's vision, as well as Trey and May's.

"Hurry!" Trey cried, turning back to May in the fog. "Go and find them, quick!"

May nodded in response, hastily retreating from the growing cloud of black smoke. She made her way to the edge of the chamber and ran along the wall until the found the tunnel that Nate had come out of. Shooting one final glance back at the battlefield, she turned and ran off down the dark tunnel.

"Aaagh!" Nate groaned. "Donphan! Use Rollout!"

"Phhh-an!" Donphan bellowed, quickly rolling itself into a ball and rolling across the battlefield. He crisscrossed his way around the room, clearing out large portions of the smoke as he did so.

Finally, Murkrow stopped, closing its beak and flying up a few feet. Donphan slid out of its ball position, sliding along the floor as it did so due to the momentum.

"Wait a minute..." Nate said, glancing across the field as the last of the smoke cleared. "Where'd the girl go?"

"Nowhere you need to worry about." Trey shot back. "Murkrow, use Aerial Ace!"

"Mur!" Murkrow responded, flapping its dark wings as it soared higher into the air above its opponent before streaking straight down toward Donphan.

"Donphan, hit it with Hyper Beam!" Nate ordered.

"Dodge it and keep going!"

Murkrow spun in barrel roll around the hulking orange beam that streaked toward it, causing the beam to slam into the ceiling instead, cause the entire room to tremble as bits of debris rained down from the roof.

"Defense Curl, now!"

Donphan roared as Murkrow shot toward it like a bullet, rolling into a ball again, but remaining stationary this time. Murkrow slammed into it, but the attack merely grazed off the armor now encasing Donphan.

"Now use Hyper Beam again!" Nate bellowed.

However, Donphan was still recovering from the first attack, and thus merely unrolled from its ball form and fell on its side, panting.

"What are you doing?"

"Now, Murkrow!" Trey called. "Night Shade, go!"

Murkrow spun around from high above the trainers, locking its sights on Donphan before shooting a series of black rings at it from its eyes.

"Phaaaaan!" Donphan roared in agony as the Ghost attack hit.

"You...you little..." Nate growled, glaring daggers at Trey from across the battlefield. "I'm gonna make you pay for that..."

"Come on." Trey fired back tauntingly as Murkrow floated down in front of him. "Let's see you try."

"Ash!" May cried, her own voice echoing off the walls back at her as she ran through the maze of stone hallways. "ASH!"

She had no idea where she was, or even how to get back to the Palace entrance. Her basic instincts told her to find Spenser first, as this was his facility and therefore he would likely know the way through this labyrinth. But, for some reason...

_"I have to find Ash."_ She thought to herself. _"I _have_ to."_

She couldn't explain why, but she was overcome with a desire to find him - despite the fact that she knew Spenser was the one that could actually get them out of here.

She turned another corner in the never-ending maze of tunnels, and her ears were suddenly treated to the cry of a familiar voice.

"Pika, pika, pika..." Pikachu's voice came softly from the walls of another hallway. Before she had time to think about it, Pikachu himself ran out of a connecting tunnel into the tunnel that May herself was in.

"Pikachu?" She cried incredulously, running up to it.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, perking up when it saw her.

"What're you doing down here? Shouldn't you be with Ash?" May asked.

"Pika! Pika pika!" Pikachu explained hurriedly, pointing further down the hallway.

"You think Ash is that way?"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied, nodding, before clambering up onto May's head.

May nodded back, shifting her eyes to look at it atop her bandana. "All right, then. Let's go!"

Ash was suddenly awoken from his slumber by the familiar sound of Pikachu's voice, echoing into his cell from further down the hall.

"Huh...?" He moaned groggily, glancing up from the floor. He was slumped over on the floor, against the wall, his hat previously pulled down over his eyes. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw May and Pikachu suddenly run into view on the other side of the cell bars.

"Ash!" May cried in relief.

"Pika, pi!"

"Pikachu...?" Ash muttered to himself, his body fully adjusting back to reality. "May!"

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." He replied, running over to the iron bars that stood between them. "But...what are you doing here?"

May smiled back at him. "I don't know...I just got this feeling that you'd need help."

"But where'd you find Pikachu?"

"He was looking for you, too, I think. I found him running through the tunnels on my way here, I was actually kind of lost. He seemed to know exactly how to find you."

"Really?" Ash asked in wonder, looking down at his longtime friend. "Good job, buddy!"

"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu replied happily.

"I don't really know how to get you out of here, though..." May admitted, her face falling a little.

"Pika!" Pikachu assured her, motioning for her and Ash to back away from the bars, its tail beginning to glow white. It leaped up and spun around, slamming its tail into the steel fence. Three bars toppled over onto the ground, resulting in a sufficiently-sized hole for Ash to climb out of.

"Thanks, buddy!" Ash said gratefully, stepping out through the hole in the bars. "Hey, do you think you could sniff out Spenser for us, too?"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied, taking a whiff of the air before dashing off down the hallway.

Ash and May turned to each other, grinning, and nodded before taking off after Pikachu, together.

* * *

_R&R!_


	9. Chapter 9: Escape

"Crawdaunt! Use Vicegrip to toss it back!" Trey cried, beckoning to his Pokemon.

"Cra-aw!" Crawdaunt roared from the battlefield, grabbing the brilliant-green blade that was slicing through the air toward it. Locking down its pincers on it, it violently reared back and threw its opponent across the field.

"Tsk!" Nate grunted. "Leafeon, use Razor Leaf!"

"Le-e..." Leafeon panted from the field, struggling to get back on its feet.

Trey and Crawdaunt held their ground and waited, their eyes locked on Nate's Leafeon. Earlier in the fight, Murkrow had succeeded in defeating Donphan, but then he had been subsequently defeated by Leafeon, prompting Nate to send out Crawdaunt.

"What's the matter? Get up and attack!" Nate roared indignantly, his resolve beginning to break. "Go!"

"Lee..." Leafeon said softly, its legs shaking as it managed to get back up. Then it swung its head in a circular arc, shooting a flurry of sharpened leaves at Crawdaunt from the leaf emblem on its head.

"Crawdaunt, use Harden!"

"Craw!" Crawdaunt affirmed, remaining stationary as its shell shone a brilliant white for a second. When the leaves hit it, they were all deflected away uselessly.

"Grah!" Nate roared, his carefree demeanor finally chipping away as he continued to be beaten by Trey. "Just kill it, you stupid animal!"

"I think that's enough." Trey muttered to himself. Gesturing to Leafeon, he cried, "Crawdaunt, finish this with Crabhammer!"

"Craw-daunt!" Crawdaunt boomed, charging across the battlefield and sending Leafeon flying with a smack of its claws. When it landed, it remained lying on its side, unconscious.

"No!" Nate roared angrily, glaring daggers across the chamber at Trey.

"Uh, yes." Trey shot back mockingly. "He can't fight anymore, as you can plainly see. Now, you gonna send out a third Pokemon, or do you want to quit while you're ahead?"

Nate gritted his teeth. "I'll teach you to make a mockery of me, you little punk." Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a third Pokeball...

"Are you sure Spenser's around here?" May asked, glancing down at Pikachu, who was leading Ash and May down hallway after hallway on all fours.

"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu responded sharply, rounding another corner. Ash and May quickly followed, rounding the sharp turn and coming face to face with a long corridor of prison cells, similar to the hallway May had found Ash in. Pikachu ran down the hall before turning and pointing into one of the cells.

"What is it, buddy?" Ash asked, catching up to Pikachu and looking in the cell, along with May. "Huh - ?"

"What? Hey, who are you guys?" The young girl inside the bars asked them. She had shoulder-length brown hair, and wore a jet-black, short-sleeved vest with a white tank-top on underneath it. Over her legs was a simple pair of navy blue shorts, and she bore sneakers with all three colors on them.

"I was about to ask you the same thing..." May replied slowly, peering at the unidentified girl through the iron bars.

The girl stared at them for a moment in confusion. "Well...I'm Lily...and...I've been for a few days...I guess. I came to challenge the Battle Palace, but when I beat the Frontier Brain...he captured me."

"Spenser?" Ash asked, his gaze darkening. Lily nodded. "I battled him, too, but I quit the battle early and left."

"You forfeited?" Lily asked in surprise. "Then what are you doing in here?"

"Well, uh, we kind of came back...you see, that Spenser that we battled wasn't actually the real guy. We met the real one on the way out of the city, and came back here to get rid of the phony." Ash explained nervously.

"We?" Lily repeated, looking back and forth between the two. "What, are you two, like, a couple or something?"

Ash blinked, staring back at the girl, his face reddening slightly. "We - we're not really - "

"No, nothing like that - " May added, a blush creeping up onto her face as well. Pikachu noticed this, and glanced at his two human friends in confusion.

"There's - others with us - " Ash choked out.

"Y-yeah...some more of our friends..." May added softly.

"Oh, I see now!" Lily exclaimed happily. "Sorry about that. "Well, do you guys have some way to get me out of here? That guy took all my Pokemon away when I was locked in here."

"Yeah, mine too." Ash replied, nodding to her.

"Pikachu actually found me, and helped me get him out." May explained. "By the way, I'm May."

"Oh, yeah, I'm Ash."

Lily nodded to the two in acknowledgement. "Oh, I see! So, little guy, you want to get me out of here, too?"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied, nodding jovially. A few seconds and one Iron Tail later, a few bars had been dropped to the floor in the same way as Ash's cell. Lily quickly climbed out into the hall with them.

"We were actually looking for Spenser, when Pikachu found you..." Ash said slowly.

"Oh, no problem. I need to get my Pokemon back, anyway." Lily said happily.

"All right, then. Let's go, Pikachu!"

The group continued down the corridor of cells, and were about to turn a corner and leave, when they heard another voice behind them.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Spenser's voice echoed.

Ash and May turned sharply in place. "Spenser!"

"Yes, I'm here." He said slowly.

"Why didn't you say anything a minute ago?"

He turned and looked at them through the cell bars, the ever-present smile on his face. "I didn't want to interrupt you."

The group traded questioning glances to each other before walking over to the old man's cell and promptly releasing him.

"I guess your Pokemon are gone, too, huh?" Ash asked him sadly as the newly enlarged group continued through the labyrinth of tunnels.

"Yes." Spenser responded, his voice dropping slightly. "What about your Pikachu? Why was he not taken away as well?"

"I don't really know what happened to him." Ash responded, looking to May.

"Well, Trey and me came in looking for you guys. He's still in the battle chamber, as far as I know, holding off Spenser's double." May explained quickly.

"Trey's here too?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. Pikachu found me in the tunnels and led me to Ash's cell, and then to that hallway where we found you two." She finished, as they all rounded another corner.

"Hey!" Lily exclaimed, running ahead of her companions. "Look!"

Around the corner, in a much larger cell than any of them had been in, resided a small horde of Pokemon. Ash quickly pinpointed his own, realizing that this was where the prisoners' Pokemon had been kept.

"It's our Pokemon!" Ash cried happily, as Pikachu broke down this cell wall as well.

Once they were all inside the bars, Ash hastily made his way over to his Pokemon, who looked happy to see him, to say the least.

"Hey, guys!" He cried jubilantly.

"Gro-vyle!"

"Phaa!"

"Swellow!"

"Corphish, cor!"

May slowly walked up behind him, grinning, as he recalled his four partners. Across the large cell, Spenser had greeted his Shiftry, Venusaur, and Claydol, and recalled them as well. Lily had done the same, recalling her Leafeon, Butterfree, Quilava, and Prinplup.

Spenser turned back to leave, but stopped when he saw Ash and May standing close to one another. He continued watching them for a moment, as May said something to him, causing them both to chuckle as they turned back to the makeshift entrance. He grinned to himself as the group exited the holding cell.

"Let's see you defeat this one!" Nate roared, pulling out a third Pokeball from his coat. "Go, Venusaur!"

"Veeenusaur!" Venusaur bellowed, materializing on the field in a flash of white energy.

"I think I could manage that." Trey joked to himself as Crawdaunt got into a battle position.

"Use Vine Whip, now!"

"Venu-saur!" Venusaur boomed, striking out with the two concealed vines on its back. Crawdaunt wasn't fast enough, and before Trey knew it, its pincers were both tied up in one of Venusaur's vines, unable to move.

"Crawdaunt! Shake them off!" Trey cried.

"Craw - !" Crawdaunt grunted, its pincers flailing around as it tried to shake off the vines to no avail.

"Now hit him with Solarbeam!" Nate roared.

"...Vee...nuu..." Venusaur grunted slowly, lowering its head as sunlight began to collect in the massive flower on its back. "...SAUR!"

The beam fired, hurtling across the battlefield straight for the defenseless Crawdaunt.

"Crawdaunt!" Trey cried helplessly.

Suddenly, an equally-sized lightning bolt streaked across the field from a side tunnel, colliding with the Solarbeam in mid-air, causing a massive explosion.

"What the - ?" Nate growled, raising an arm to block the smoke from the explosion as he looked to the source of the lightning attack.

Emerging from a side tunnel into the main chamber, was Pikachu, with Ash, May, Lily, and Spenser close behind.

"I don't think so!" Ash cried, running into the chamber next to Pikachu.

"Hey there, about time you guys got back." Trey called to them, smirking. "Hey, wait a minute - "

Lily quickly made her way to the front of the group. "Trey! You came back!"

"What? Lily?" Trey replied in disbelief as she ran up to him. "What are you - ? You got captured by that guy?"

She nodded eagerly to him. "Yeah! I beat him in a battle here and he took me prisoner!"

While everyone else was staring in confusion and disbelief, Trey turned back to Nate, who was steaming with anger at this point. "I'd back out while you still can, phony. This battle just got personal."

"What exactly - ?" May asked confusedly.

Lily turned back to her. "Oh, you didn't tell me that you came here with _Trey_! As in, my boyfriend!"

There was a long silence among the group.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	10. Chapter 10: Retake the Battle Palace

_Here you go, finally. End of the first little 'arc'. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

"Well, isn't that sweet." Nate said mockingly through gritted teeth, breaking the prolonged silence. "I have to hand it to you, though. Your Butterfree really did come in handy a few times."

"My - what?" Lily shouted in surprise. "What are you talking about? Butterfree's right here with me!"

"Yeah, of course it is. And your Leafeon's with you, too, isn't it?" Nate said, gesturing to his fallen Pokemon on the side of the field.

"Leafeon?" Lily cried, staring at it in disbelief.

"And I suppose you are going to tell me that this is my Venusaur?" Spenser chortled, gazing at Nate's Venusaur curiously.

"Yeah, that's right." Nate replied, smirking.

"It doesn't take much to dethrone that poor excuse of a declaration." Spenser said, cheerful as usual. He reached to his waist and tossed one of his Pokeballs into the air. "Venusaur, to my side!"

"Vee-nu-saur!" Venusaur roared, appearing next to Spenser in a flash of light.

"There now. You see?"

Nate stared across the room, dumbstruck. His face slowly screwed itself in anger, his psyche cracking once again. "D - damn you! You freed all your Pokemon!"

Ash and May were still staring in disbelief. "But - if that's your Venusaur...then who's - ?"

"I thought something was off about his Pokemon, ever since we first met him outside the city." Brock said in a calculating tone.

"Huh?" Ash said, turning to the chamber's entrance.

"What?" May said almost at the same time, turning to face the entrance as well. They were met with the sight of Brock and Max entering the room from the dark tunnel that led to the outside. "Max! Brock!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried happily.

"You guys were in here for so long!" Max exclaimed, running over to his older sister. "We were gettin' worried about you!"

"I thought something weird was going on." Brock added, nodding as he approached Ash and May. "Nate's Pokemon always acted a little differently than they should have."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, shifting his gaze across the room to Nate's Venusaur and Leafeon. "What's wrong with them?"

"Grr...I guess there's no point hiding it any more." He said resignedly. "Ditto! Do it!"

At his word, his Venusaur began glowing a harsh white, similar to the light of evolution. It began to rapidly shrink and change shape, and in a few seconds, the light dissipated, leaving in Venusaur's place a somewhat small, shapeless blob of pink goo with a face.

"Ditto!" The Pokemon said lightly.

"What the - ?" Ash cried in surprise.

"A Ditto!" Max added, equally shocked.

"A...a what?" May said, producing her Pokedex from her fanny pack.

_"Ditto, the Transform Pokemon. Ditto are able to rearrange their cell structure to transform into any lifeform they see." _

"I thought something was up with your Pokemon, too." Trey said as May put away her Pokedex. "You might wanna train your Ditto a little better next time."

"Shut up!" Nate roared, as Leafeon reverted back into a Ditto as well. He quickly recalled the fallen Pokemon, focusing his attention on the battling Ditto. "You might know my secret, but how much will that help in a battle? Go, Ditto! Transform!"

"Huh - ?" Ash muttered, as Nate gestured away from the field to Pikachu. "Pikachu!"

"Pi-ka!"

A second later, Ditto had shapeshifted into a visual double of the Mouse Pokemon.

"Now!" Nate bellowed, gesturing to the roof of the chamber. "Use Thunderbolt on the ceiling!"

"What?" Trey cried. He'd been expecting the attack to be launched against Crawdaunt.

"Piika!" Faux-Pikachu cried, in perfect imitation, shooting a massive Thunderbolt skyward from its body. It collided with the ceiling head-on, causing it to start collapsing.

"Again!" Nate cried hysterically.

"Pika!" It cried again, shooting another Thunderbolt to the roof.

"What do you think you're doing?" Trey shouted. "You'll bring this whole place down on top of us!"

"EXACTLY!" Nate boomed in triumph. Giant stone fragments had already begun littering the ground as the room began to collapse on itself.

"Venusaur, return!" Spenser cried, actually concerned for once. "Come! We must get out of here!"

Trey and Lily nodded. "Return!" Trey cried, recalling Crawdaunt before taking Lily's hand and disappearing into the entrance tunnel.

"Come on!" Brock yelled, raising his voice merely to be heard over the deafening sound of the stones hitting the floor. "We've gotta go!"

"Right!" Ash agreed, nodding, as Spenser took off ahead of them, disappearing into the tunnel after Trey and Lily.

Pikachu lept up on Ash's shoulder as the four of them dashed for the exit. Suddenly, a huge fragment crashed into the floor between May and Max, who was in the back of the group, knocking him over on the ground and nearly smashing him into pieces.

"Ahh!" Max cried in fear, more stones slamming into the ground around him as he remained on the floor, paralyzed by fear. "M-Maaay!"

"Max!" May cried, turning and reaching out for him as she began to run back toward him. Another shard smashed down in front of her, though, blocking her path. She tried to run around it, but another one loomed above her out of sight. She noticed its shadow beneath her a second later, and shot her head up just as it was about to hit -

Then she was thrown backward, all the way back to Brock, who quickly steered her toward the tunnel.

"Ash!" She cried helplessly, turning her head to see him running past the falling stones to her brother.

"Come on! We've gotta get out of here!" Brock urged, guiding them both toward the exit.

Ash quickly made his way back to Max, pulling him up off the ground in an instant. "Come on!"

Max didn't reply, instead holding his hands over his head and shaking heavily in fear and shock. Ash grabbed one of his hands and took off running back for the exit, as another fragment streaked through the air toward him.

"Huh - ?" Ash grunted, not even stopping as he noticed the shard. Pikachu leaped off his shoulder as its tail shone white, beating the fragment away in midair and landing nimbly back on Ash's head. "Thanks, buddy!"

Ash, still guiding Max by the hand, ran into the tunnel just as a rock fragment crashed into the ground behind them, blocking the tunnel mouth. He still didn't stop, continuing down the dark tunnel until he saw the other side.

Minutes later, everyone was standing near the front of the Palace, waiting for the authorities to show up. Spenser had taken it upon himself to call the police, although nobody was sure whether Nate had gotten out of the collapsing chamber in time or not. Of course, not many of them cared, either.

Max had instantly run to May's side after Ash emerged from the facility, tears running down his face as he embraced his sister. Trey and Lily had embraced as well, distancing themselves from their companions for a moment to spend a private moment together.

Brock, on the other hand, had spent a short time asking Ash about what had happened in the Palace, but then took to waiting around with Spenser, presumably to await the arrival of however many Officer Jennys were going to show up.

Ash simply took to sitting on a bench, processing everything that had happened to them that night. Pikachu climbed down from its perch and stood on the bench next to him.

"Pika?" Pikachu piped up after a few moments of silence.

"Hey, buddy. You doing okay?"

"Pika, pika."

"So, you helped May find me in those tunnels?" Ash asked. "How did you even get out?"

"Pika, pikachu." Pikachu answered, shaking its head.

"You weren't even put in the cell?" Ash said, confused. "Well...whatever you did, good job."

"Chaaa." Pikachu cooed, grinning. Ash mentioning May had reminded it of something it had been meaning to ask, though. "Pika, pi...?"

"Huh?" Ash replied softly, his eyes following Pikachu's outstretched finger, which was pointing across the area to May. "What about her?"

"Piika..." Pikachu began, trying to figure out how to say it. "Pika, pika, pikachu." It waved its arms around, trying to get its point across.

"What about us in the tunnels?"

"Pi-ka..." Pikachu sighed. It perked up again as it saw Trey and Lily return from the side of one of the buildings. "Pika, pika!" It continued, gesturing to the couple.

"What?" Ash asked, looking over to see the two of them walking back hand in hand. His eyes shot back to Pikachu in surprise as he realized what his partner was saying. "You think I...?"

"Pika." Pikachu replied, nodding.

Ash didn't respond right away, shifting his glance to May, who was still talking to Max. "I don't...think of May...like that. We're just good friends. You should know that by now."

"Pika, pika!"

"Look, I don't - "

"Piika!"

"I told you, I don't think about her like that!" Ash told him, more forcefully this time. "I don't know where you even got the idea. I mean...me and May...come on."

However, as Pikachu sighed to itself and curled up on the bench to take a nap, Ash couldn't help but think back to the dream he'd had two nights prior. He'd never figured out why he'd had that particular dream, and had almost forgotten about it entirely. But now, it seemed more curious to him than ever.

_"Pikachu wouldn't just bring up something like that out of nowhere..."_ Ash thought to himself. _"But what would've given him that idea?"_

At the very least, Ash found it difficult to keep his eyes away from May for the remainder of the night.

It wasn't long after that before the police arrived on the scene. Unfortunately, however, they quickly concluded that even if Nate _was_ still alive in there somewhere, there was no way for anyone to get in or out. They decided to set up a twenty-four hour watch around the remains of the structure, at least for a while, but no further help was provided.

"So what now?" Ash asked, Pikachu perched on his shoulder as usual as the majority of the officers left the area.

"Well, I can't very well use the Palace in its current state, can I?" Spenser answered. "And all of my Symbols were in there, as well. This is not good...I will have to speak with the other Brains tomorrow. We will figure something out then."

"I guess that doesn't leave much for me to do for a while..." Lily said sadly.

"Speaking of which..." May began, turning to face the other girl. "What exactly were you doing back here? If you're with Trey, shouldn't you have been...well...with him?"

"Well, we kind of had this thing going..." Trey started slowly, scratching his head. "We were both doing the Battle Frontier at the same time, but we thought it'd be cool to make sort of a race of it."

"Right." Lily continued, nodding to him. "He already beat the Battle Palace, so he was going ahead to the Battle Tower. I...was a little behind."

"But...you hardly ever get to see each other!" May argued.

"We still call each other from the Pokemon Centers and stuff. And we do meet up every now and then, like right before I caught the boat to Chrysanthemum Island." Trey explained, shrugging.

"Oh, that's right!" May exclaimed suddenly. "I almost forgot about my Contest! It's in two days!"

"Yeah." Brock said, nodding. "We should probably get back and get some rest. If we miss the boat tomorrow, we probably won't make it to the island in time."

"I guess that's that, then." Trey said with a sense of finality. "Good to meet you guys. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime."

Ash nodded back. "Yeah. Maybe then we could have a battle!"

"Sure. I'd like to see how tough your Pikachu really is."

"Pika!"

And with that, Ash, May, Max, and Brock began to walk back to the Pokemon Center, waving goodbye to Trey and Lily as they went.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	11. Chapter 11: Once Upon A Star

_More updates! We're getting closer to being caught up! _

_The main page is now at twenty-three. So...yeah._

* * *

The group made their way back to the Pokemon Center in the dark, although the night was already more than half gone at that point. This time, Ash's sleep was free of any strange dreams, unlike the last time he had slept there.

Late the following morning, due to all four of them sleeping in, they checked themselves out of the Center and went to find Spenser. Once they met up with him, he told them that he had talked to Brandon and Scott earlier that morning, and they had decided to temporarily shut down the entire Battle Frontier until the Palace was back up and running, claiming that it would cause too many problems if the Spirits Symbol was unobtainable to trainers who didn't already have it.

After hearing this, the group bade Spenser farewell and made for the docks by the beach once again. They all had to buy new tickets once down there, having already used up their old set going to and from the island the first time.

Once the line of fellow ticket-buyers had moved up sufficiently, it was their turn, starting with Brock. He approached the ticket booth, and instantly noticed the black-haired girl behind the counter. Grinning in an almost creepy manner, he shoved his fist through the receptacle, filled with money.

"Uh..." The girl started softly as she noticed the wad of cash, peering around the area to see if Brock was paying for anyone else.

"Just one, please." Brock said smoothly. "And I added a little something extra, in case you wanted to come along for the ride as well, gorgeous - "

"I don't think you can afford that kind of ticket." Max said dryly, dragging his older friend by the ear toward the loading area.

"Hehe..." Ash chuckled nervously, stepping up to the ticket booth. Pulling out a significantly smaller sum of money than Brock, he stuck his hand through the window. "One, please."

After he received his ticket, he stepped forward, aiming to go and join Max and Brock. However, he stopped when he noticed May struggling with her fanny pack. He turned around and saw her frantically searching through the various pockets, no doubt for the money to pay for hers and Max's tickets.

"Uh...just one second..." May said nervously, smiling sweetly at the ticket girl as she hastily rummaged through her pack, only to come up with nothing. "Oh no...did I really spend it all...?"

Ash watched for another second before stepping forward, back in front of the ticket booth. "Uh, excuse me. I actually needed two more tickets, if that's okay."

The clerk nodded to him as he produced a little more money from his backpack and handed it to her.

"Sure, no problem. I'd expect you to buy your girlfriend one, but it's pretty sweet to get one for her little brother, too." The clerk responded, smiling cheerfully at the two of them as Ash retracted his hand.

"Wh-what?" Ash and May responded in unison, blushes creeping up on both of their faces. "N-no, we're just friends..."

"Is that so?" The girl responded, her face falling slightly. "You could've fooled me. You two look perfect together."

"Uh..." They muttered, once again in unison, glancing at each other. "Yeah...well, uh...thanks." Ash finished, rather lamely, holding up the three tickets in his hand rather feebly before turning and walking away from the booth, with May not far behind him.

"Piika." Pikachu mumbled sadly, shaking his head at his human partner.

Ash ignored him, staring intently at the ground as he continued toward Max and Brock. May hung a few feet behind him, staring just as intently at the back of his head.

Much later, the four found themselves relaxing in various positions across the boat, similar to their first trip on the ferry. Due to it being later in the evening, there weren't many girls out on the sundeck for Brock to flirt with, so he was instead forced to retire to their cabin, hunting through his guidebook in an attempt to find something to occupy their time after May's Contest until the Battle Frontier was reopened.

Max had previously been running around the ship with Pikachu, but now he had also sent himself to their cabin, exhausted, aiming to go down early for the night.

Ash, on the other hand, had taken to simply lying back in a reclining beach-style chair and resting. Not actually sleeping, but instead taking the time to relax and think through the events that had transpired in Fuchsia City.

_"If the Battle Frontier's closed down for a while..."_ Ash thought to himself, staring at the dark night sky above him. _"I wonder what we're going to do..."_ He blinked, raising his head slightly to glance across the deck at May, who was standing on the edge of the deck, hands on the railing, staring up at the sky. _"Well, the Kanto Contests sure haven't stopped. We could always just keep going around with May for a while..."_

"Pika!" Pikachu chimed enthusiastically, dashing across the floor next to Ash's chair.

"Hey, buddy." Ash replied happily, shifting his gaze to face Pikachu. "Where'd Max go?"

"Pika, pika-chu." Pikachu explained, clasping his hands together near the side of his head and closing his eyes as he leaned against them.

"He went to sleep already?" Ash replied skeptically. "That's weird."

He leaned back into his chair, folding his hands behind his head and leaning his head against his clasped hands. He continued to watch the sky for a while, idly scanning the blank slate of black for any activity.

Suddenly, a brilliant streak of white ignited in the sea of black, shooting across the plane like a bullet, leaving a short-lived trail of glimmering sparkles in its wake.

"Huh?" Ash exclaimed, his eyes widening as he shot up out of his chair. "Hey, Pikachu! Did you see that?"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied, nodding excitedly.

"A shooting star...cool! That means I get to make a wish, right?"

"Pika." Pikachu nodded in response.

"Hmm..." Ash said slowly, putting a hand to his chin as he considered his options. "I could wish for the Battle Frontier to reopen soon...or for that Nate guy to never come back. Or maybe for Spenser to get back on his feet soon..." He pondered. "Or...maybe..."

He shot his gaze across the deck, back to May, whose gaze still appeared to be locked on the sky. _"I wonder if May saw the star, too..."_

He continued staring at her, thinking back to the things they'd been told the last few days...

Lily's question in the Battle Palace's catacombs. _"What, are you two, like, a couple or something?"_

The ticket clerk's comment at the Fuchsia Docks. _"You could've fooled me. You two look perfect together."_

Even Pikachu's weird conclusion about him 'liking' May. _"Pika, pika!"_

And then, his dream about Oscar and Andy actually losing to them back in Hoenn. _"Wow. It seems like your love is stronger than we predicted...you even spoke together!"_

He glanced down at Pikachu, who nodded back at him in a serious manner. Hardening his expression, he glanced at May one final time before shooting his gaze back to the sky and quietly making his wish.

"Wow...I can't believe the Battle Frontier shut down..." May whispered to herself quietly, her eyes passively scanning the empty black sky above her. "I wonder what Ash is going to do now..."

A strange feeling of unease crept into her stomach as she realized that Pallet Town wasn't all that far from where they were now. "Maybe he'll want to stay at home for a while and relax..." She mumbled softly, her gaze falling slightly as she unwillingly gripped the railing tighter. "That'd probably be nice, he doesn't much of a chance to stay at home...but why does that make me feel...?"

Her train of thought was interrupted by a glistening white streak shooting across the sky in front of her, drawing her attention back up. She stared at it breathlessly as it slowly faded away, leaving behind a faint white trail as it did so.

_"A - a shooting star!"_ May thought excitedly. Before she could start thinking of possible wishes, however, her mind was taken back to the last time she'd wished on a star...

_"Back when Max found Jirachi...that was when I bought my Wish Maker."_ She thought, her thoughts drifting back to the week they'd spent with the Wish Pokemon. _"I was supposed to fold down one of the seven flaps each night that the Millennium Comet was in the sky...but then I forgot to fold down the seventh flap."_ She continued, slightly embarrassed at herself for making a mistake like that. _"I...I do remember what I wished for, though..."_

She turned around, briefly glancing behind her at Ash, who appeared to be deep in thought about something. She vaguely noticed that Pikachu had emerged from the ship's halls, but her attention was mainly focused on the boy beside the small Mouse Pokemon.

She bowed her head, smiling softly to herself as she turned back around. _"Yeah. I remember it. But I messed up with the Wish Maker..."_ She shifted her gaze back up into the sky, retaining her smile. _"L-Let's try to get it right this time."_

The night air was still and silent, as both Ash and May made their wishes at the same moment.

"I wish...that she'll be with me forever."

"I wish...that he'll stay with me, no matter what happens..."

Although neither one of them realized it, they had both spoken their wishes aloud. Pikachu watched Ash curiously as he said it, as if confirming the suspicions he'd had for the past few days about his human friend.

However, unknown to either of them, at that moment, somewhere lost in the Earth's surface, inside of a small hibernation crystal...

Jirachi twitched in his sleep.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	12. Chapter 12: Flowers for May

The boat arrived at Chrysanthemum Island later that night. The port there was also at a beach, seemingly integrated into the city itself, the two were so close to each other. The group quickly made their way off the ferry and into the town's Pokemon Center. After checking in and subsequently separating Brock from the Center's Nurse Joy, they wasted no time in dropping their bags and curling up into bed.

As May dozed off to sleep, her thoughts were still lingering on the wish she'd made on the boat, and the young male trainer lying in his own bed across the room from her...

_Ash and May continued running down the remote forest path, the horizon line by the sea beckoning them to come. As they emerged from the foliage onto the edge of a cliff overlooking the port, they both glanced around the clearing in unison, calling out to their friends._

_"Are you here, Brock?" Ash cried._

_"Hey, Max?" May added, cupping her hands around her mouth._

_Ash suddenly glanced down at the port below them. "Look, May!"_

_She looked over at this, following his gaze down to the dock far below them as a male voice echoed across the open air. _

_"Last call! Final ferry to Pacifidlog Island! Last call!"_

_Ash and May both gasped audibly at this announcement. "Th-that's the very last one?" May cried in shock._

_"All right..." Ash said decisively, turning to his friend. "You're gonna have to go ahead without us, May."_

_"Huh?" She replied quickly, turning to him in surprise._

_"Don't worry, I can take care of Max. The three of us can catch the ferry tomorrow, and be there to root for you!" Ash said assuringly, grinning at her._

_May simply stared back at him with her mouth hanging open, unsure of how to respond._

_"The Contest starts in the morning. If you're not there tonight, you won't be able to compete!"_

_"Yeah, but - "_

_"This has been your dream." Ash said, suddenly stepping forward and placing his hands on her shoulders. He locked eyes with her as he continued. "Pacifidlog is the last contest, and your last chance to enter the Grand Festival. Right?"_

_"Yeah..."_

_"Then you really ought to go for it." Ash said softly, stepping forward even closer and bringing his face close to hers. Pikachu caught the hint and quickly scurried down off of his trainer's shoulder. "I believe in you. You can do it."_

_"Huh - ?" May squeaked, being it all that she could get out before Ash had placed his own mouth over hers, locking their lips together in a gentle kiss. They remained there for a moment, mixed emotions flowing between them, before breaking apart._

_A few stray tears fell down May's cheek, which she quickly wiped away as Ash glanced at them in confusion. "Th-thank you, Ash." _

May awoke with a start, the result of an abhorrent snort from Brock across the room. She remained there a moment, staring at the ceiling above her as she slowly came to her senses, breathing heavily. She glanced over at Ash, who was grunting quietly in his usual ridiculously deep sleep.

_"What was...?"_ She thought to herself confusedly. _"Ash never...he...that didn't really happen like that."_

But then she thought back to the wish that she'd made about him. _"But...is that what I _**_wanted_**_ to happen?"_

She continued to watch him for a few moments before rolling back over, smiling to herself as she drifted back to sleep.

The next morning, they all awoke and, after taking a sufficient amount of time to get ready, left the Pokemon Center, examining the city around them.

"I had heard that this was some kind of tourist resort..." Brock began, glancing at the various buildings around them. "Looks like I was right."

"Piiika..." Pikachu mumbled, watching the flocks of people scurry around the town.

"Welll, what are we waiting for?" May proposed cheerfully. "Let's go down to the beach! I've got a new swimsuit I wanted to try - "

"Uuugh..." Max moaned, his face falling. "We came here for the Contest, May. Remember?"

"What?" May replied, shifting her gaze down to her younger brother. "Of course I remember! The Contest Hall is on the beach, too, you know!"

"Of course it is..." Max muttered quietly.

"Come on!" May cried happily, taking off down the street in the direction of the beach.

"H-hey, wait!" Max called back, running after her alongside Brock.

Ash, however, didn't seem to notice this right away. He continued standing there, immobile, his eyes following May as she grew smaller and smaller on the horizon.

"Pika?" Pikachu said questioningly, looking his trainer in the eyes from his shoulder. "Pika!"

"Huh?" Ash said quickly, blinking as he snapped out of his trance. He glanced around and noticed that he was standing alone in the middle of the street. "H-hey, wait!" He cried, taking off running after his friends.

Once they had all arrived at the coastline, fraught with tourists enjoying themselves in the water and on the sand, May noticed the large Contest Hall. Half of it was positioned on the stone city road, and the other half was in the sand of the beach.

"Look! Over there!" May announced, pointing a gloved finger at the building. "I guess I should go and register for the Contest first..."

"Yeah, good idea." Brock agreed, nodding his head. "And in the meantime, I think I'll hang around the beach and...pick out the best spot."

As he eagerly made his way across the beach, eyeing all of the girls he saw as he went, Max sighed to May and followed behind him, ready to tug his ear at a moment's notice. May giggled and ran off in the opposite direction, toward the Contest Hall.

Ash arrived at the spot a short while later. He glanced to the left and saw Brock walking along the beach with Max in tow. Glancing to the right, he noticed May heading for the Contest Hall. He was about to continue running after her in an attempt to catch up, but then he caught himself, realizing that this would be the perfect time to go on a little 'errand' he'd decided to run the previous night. Much to Pikachu's confusion, he turned around and ran back into the city, away from the beach.

Inside the Contest Hall, May noticed a good deal more competitors than there usually were. _"Probably due to the whole tourist beach thing they've got going on here."_

She got in line behind a young boy who was about the same height as herself, clad in a purple shirt and lightly colored teal pants. It took her a moment to realize who it was.

"Drew!"

"Huh?" Drew muttered, turning around, his right hand remaining in his pocket as it was before he turned. "Oh. Hi, May."

"I guess we'll be competing against each other again, then, right?"

"Yeah, probably." Drew replied nonchalantly, flicking his hair out with his free hand. "I hope you've been training since last time. Losing to Harley in the final round wasn't one of the better things you've ever done."

May's face fell slightly as she remembered her Munchlax being beaten by Harley's Octillery in her last Contest. "Yeah..."

Drew's eyes focused on something behind May's back as she said this. "Speaking of which..."

"Well, look who it is!" Harley's ever-grating voice rang into May's ears. She turned and saw the telltale Cacturne costume that Harley insisted on wearing around. "If it isn't my little gingerbread cookie!"

"Oooh..." May groaned, putting both hands to her head as Harley strutted up to the line as well.

"I have to say, I'm a little surprised that you'd show up here, given how badly I trounced you last time." Harley chimed playfully in his high-pitched voice.

Drew merely stared him down as May gritted her teeth. "I've...got a headache..."

Harley giggled girlishly at this.

"Ah, man..." Ash grunted quietly under his breath as he roamed the busy streets of the town. "What did I get myself into, buddy? I've got no idea where anything is in this place..."

"Piika..." Pikachu responded sympathetically.

Suddenly, a group of young girls rushed across the street from around the corner, giggling hysterically with flowers in their hands. Ash noticed this, eyeing the flowers as they ran past him. He ran around the corner they had emerged from and spotted a small shop with numerous flower arrangements positioned around the entrance.

Ash smiled in relief. "There we go..."

He made his way across the street and entered the small shop. Once he did, he instantly felt out of place; the small shop was filled with girls of all ages, all of them eagerly browsing the various selections of flowers set up all around the single large room. The only thing he noticed that drew any small amount of attention was a trio of Bellossom that were dancing jovially on a shelf across the room.

Ash swallowed and took a step into the shop, eyeing a few of the carnations. He had no idea where to even begin. He didn't even think he'd ever been in a flower shop in his life before.

It didn't take long for a female clerk to approach him. "Excuse me, sir, you look a little lost. Can I help you?"

"Uh...yeah...I think..." Ash replied vaguely. "There's...well...there's someone I wanted to get something for..."

The clerk smiled at him as he spoke, catching his meaning. "Oh, I see. Don't you worry." She said, winking at him. "We'll help you find what you're looking for. Right this way, please."

Ash smiled back, thankful that he wouldn't have to brave this strange environment alone. "Thanks."

"Well, we have quite a wide selection of flowers here..." The woman continued, leading him through the small aisles, lined with shelves of flower pots. "Were you thinking of a single flower, or a bouquet?"

"Uh..." Ash replied dumbly. He had no idea. "...I guess...just one?"

"Okay then." She answered knowingly, leading him away from the aisles and over to a table against the wall, which was followed by many more tables like it further down the wall. A collection of single flowers stuck in vases rested on the table. "Here are our singles. Do any of these catch your eye?"

Ash stared at them blankly for a moment, then he reluctantly began to imagine what May would look like next to each of the carnations. "I...uh...hmm...I guess...I don't know..."

The clerk continued to watch him as he pored over the flowers, trying to pick one that May would like. He soon realized that he no idea what her taste in flowers were, nor how to determine which would look nice with her.

"None of these?" The lady said after another moment. "How about these?"

She continued to lead him down the row of tables, asking at each one which he thought he wanted. He consistently turned them all down, and eventually they reached the end of the row.

"Are you sure none of those were satisfactory?" The clerk asked again.

"I...yeah...I'm sorry..." Ash mumbled, scratching his head. "I don't really know what to look for..."

"Hmm..." She said, putting a hand to her chin. "Well...we do have one more single in the back...it just came in a little while ago..."

Ash watched her as she retreated to the back of the shop, returning a few seconds later with a single, short-stemmed flower with emerald-green petals and a brilliant white center. It was held in a clear, crystal-green vase. "How does this one look? It just came in from one of our associates in Johto. Apparently, it was procured from near the Forest Shrine in Ilex Forest..."

Ash perked up at this, despite having already considered getting this one over all the others. He knew about the shrine's connection to Celebi, and he remembered that although he had first met the Forest Guardian a long time prior, along with Brock, May had also encountered it along with Max in the forest near Cycling Road on the way to Fuchsia City. "Yeah, that one looks great!"

The clerk smiled sweetly back at him. "This one it is, then! Unfortunately, for such a valuable item, I can't exactly sell it to you for nothing..."

Ash followed her over to the checkout counter as he heard the price of it echo in his ear. "Wh-what?"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"I'm sorry, but business is business..."

Ash groaned and briefly reconsidered what he was doing. Then he remembered the wish he'd made the night before, and reluctantly handed the clerk a huge wad of cash from his backpack.

"Thank you, come again!"

Ash took the vase in his hands and promptly exited the shop. As he began to make his way back to the beach, he looked down at the flower sitting in the vase. "what do you think, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu responded encouragingly.

"Yeah, I hope she thinks so too..."

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	13. Chapter 13: Ash's Gift

After registering herself for the Pokemon Contest, May had taken to the typical practice of waiting around the lobby with the other Coordinators until the Appeals began. She had already begun to outline her strategy for the upcoming rounds: she first planned to use Squirtle for the Appeals round, and then to battle with Eevee for the first time. She had previously refrained from using her recently hatched Pokemon in Contests, but now she felt confident that it was ready to battle.

She perked up, however, when she noticed Ash and Pikachu entering the Hall from across the room. Crossing the throngs of other Coordinators eager for the Contest to start, she also noticed he was holding what looked like a clear green vase with a single flower in it.

"Ash?" She asked quizzically as she approached him. "What are you doing here? The Contest hasn't started yet..."

"Uh...yeah...I...uh..."

"Pika, pikachu." Pikachu said encouragingly from his position at his trainer's feet.

May watched him silently for a moment, confused, as he stared at the ground with a strange look on his face. Deciding to change the subject, she focused her eyes on the vase in his hands. "Um...is that a flower? Who's that for?"

Ash looked up, staring intently at the vase himself, avoiding May's eyes. "It...it's for you."

May's eyes widened, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. "...What?"

"Uh..." Ash mumbled. Then, acting on impulse, he shoved the vase out in front of him, gesturing for her to take it, his gaze still fixated away from hers. "I thought this flower looked really nice and thanks for helping me out back there and good luck in your Contest!" He blurted out all at once.

May blinked, her eyes slowly shifting from Ash to the flower. She reached out a hand to take it, examining it as she plucked it from the vase. It had bright green, stubby petals that surrounded a plain white center. "Helping you out?"

Ash lowered his hands, shifting the vase to his left hand instead of both. His eyes shifted back to the flower, now in May's hand. "Y-yeah. You know...back at the Battle Palace."

May giggled. "Oh, that? Well, what was I supposed to do? You're my friend, Ash, of course I'm going to help you."

A faint blush appeared on Ash's face as well at hearing these words. "Well...thanks. I hope you like it, it wasn't cheap."

May frowned. "Ash! You're not supposed to tell me that!"

Ash frowned at this as well. "I'm not?"

May giggled again at her friend's enduring ignorance. She glanced back at the flower in her hands. "It doesn't matter. It's really pretty..."

Ash glanced up fully, meeting her gaze for the first time since he'd walked in. "I heard it was from the Forest Shrine in Johto...the one to Celebi."

May's face brightened when she heard this. "Are you serious? Ash, that's amazing!"

"Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool, too."

She stared down at the flower, grinning. "Oh...! Thank you, Ash!" She twirled it around in her hand, bringing it up to her face and attempting to put in in her hair somehow.

Ash stepped forward suddenly, causing Pikachu to watch in surprise. He brought his right hand up to hers, slipping the flower out of her hand and into his. He carefully brushed her hair aside as he set the flower on her ear, letting her hair fall back into place to frame it against her face.

Both their cheeks were tinted with red by the time this was over, by neither of them noticed or cared. Ash took a step back, smiling as he examined his handiwork.

"...How does it look?" May asked nervously in a quiet voice.

Ash looked back at her as he answered, "Perfect."

"Aaaaall right, Pokemon fans!" Lilian, the Kanto Contest Ceremony Master cried jubilantly from the Contest Stage. "You wanted it, and here it is - the Chrysanthemum Island Pokemon Contest!"

The crowd erupted in applause, part of which was Brock, Max, and Ash, who had all taken their seats a few minutes prior after Max had forcefully brought Brock back from the beach.

"You all know how this goes!" Lilian roared excitedly. "Whichever Coordinator makes it all the way to the end wins the Chrysanthemum Ribbon, one of the five Ribbons required for entry to the ever-prestigious Grand Festival!"

More deafening applause and cheering.

"Now, let's meet our judges for this year's Contest!" Lilian continued, gesturing dramatically to the three-tiered judges panel. "First is the head of the organization committee, Mr. Contesta!"

"Real pleasure to be here!" Contesta announced happily.

"Next up is the head of the Pokemon Fan Club! Sukizo!"

"Remarkable!" Sukizo answered predictably.

"Aaand, last but not least, our very own local Nurse Joy!"

"Thanks so much for letting me be here." Nurse Joy replied calmly, easily the calmest of the three judges.

"All right then, loyal fans! We all know you're ready for this to begin! Aren't you...?" Lilian baited.

The crowd exploded in a flurry of applause, cheering, and whistling.

"Okay then! Let's get started!" Lilian cried, moving off of the field as she gestured to the entrance corridor, where May had just began to head onto the stage, proudly bearing Ash's green flower in her hair. "Our first contestant...a new fan-favorite around here, all the way from Petalburg City...it's May!"

May ran out onto the stage right on cue, twirling and tossing a Pokeball as she did so. "All right, Squirtle, take the stage!"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle chimed excitedly, appearing in a flash of white energy in front of May.

"Huh?" Max said confusedly, halting his cheering as he took a closer look at his sister. "Where'd May get that green flower?"

Brock crossed his arms. "She didn't have it when we left her on the beach...I wonder if Drew gave it to her?"

Ash glanced nervously at the two of them before turning his attention back to the stage.

"Okay, Squirtle, Rapid Spin!"

"Sq-uirtle!" Squirtle squeaked, withdrawing into its shell and turning horizontal before beginning its lightning-fast spinning motions, zipping around the stage in a whirlwind of dust.

"Now use Water Gun!"

At her command, Squirtle turned vertical again and shot up into the air, shooting a powerful stream of water out of one of the holes in its shell back at the ground, keeping it aloft for a few seconds as it temporarily stopped spinning.

"Now Ice Beam!"

Using the water stream as leverage, Squirtle lifted itself higher into the air while halting the Water Gun, then fired an Ice Beam out of the same hole, freezing the water formation before it collapsed into a puddle, creating a sturdy pillar of ice that flared up at the bottom in a kind of bowl.

"Good job! Now, finish this up with a Rapid Spin-to-Bubble!"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle obliged, beginning to spin again as it fell back toward the ice formation, shooting giant bubbles out of its shell in all directions. When it hit the ice, it skated along it for a moment before launching itself off of the sloped bowl edge, rocketing back into the air as it spun through the swarm of bubbles now filling the air. It popped them all one by one as it spun by on its descent course back to the ground, leaving a glistening trail of sparkles in its wake as it slowly spun back to the ground.

Once it did, it slowly halted its rotations, withdrawing from its shell and boosting itself back up on its legs, looking back at the crowd eagerly.

The crowd exploded in applause yet again, cheering feverishly for May and Squirtle.

"Wow! That was so awesome!" Max cheered proudly.

"Those two must have been practicing a lot lately." Brock added in a satisfied tone.

Ash remained silent, simply watching the stage, his huge grin never leaving his face.

On her way back to the lobby, May grinned to herself, a slight spring to her step as she went. Not only was she fairly certain she had done great just now, Ash had given her a present - and not just any present. A flower. Something that was most definitely out of the usual range of Ash-related gifts. She wasn't sure if it was somehow connected to the wish she'd made on the ferry, but the flower was now one of her most treasured possessions.

However, as she made her way down the hallway, a stocky man in a somewhat obscuring black cloak stuck his head out of a small room branching off from the main corridor. "Hey there, girl. You're the one that just performed, am I right?"

May slowly came to a stop, staring at the strange man oddly. "Y-yeah, that's me..."

"I thought so. Come here for a second, would ya?" The man asked proddingly, gesturing into the small, dark room behind him.

"...I don't know..." May replied hesitantly, taking a step away from him.

"Aw, come on, it'll just take a second, I promise." The man insisted, flashing her a twisted smile.

May glanced around the hallway, which was still empty, and slowly crossed the threshold into the room, keeping one ready hand on her pack.

"Thanks!" The man said in relief, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Wha - ?" May cried sharply, spinning around just in time to watch the last crack of light disappear behind the door.

"I was watching you perform out there." The man said softly, the tone of his voice radically different from just a second ago. "You're pretty good."

"Th-thanks..."

"By the way...that flower there, the one in your hair." The man said, pointing a gloved finger at the flower Ash had given her. "Where'd you get it?"

"I...well..." May began hesitantly. "It...someone g-gave it to me."

"Is that right?" The man replied, a mild tone of surprise in his voice. "Did this...someone...happen to mention where they picked it up?"

May hesitated a moment. "I think...it was from the Forest Shrine in Johto."

"Ah, I thought so!" The man answered happily. "Say, what would you tell me if I offered to buy that from you? For a decent price, of course."

May looked back at the man in shock, despite the darkness of the room. "I - I don't think so. I mean...it's very...important...to me."

"...I see." The man said, clearly disappointed. "Okay, let me ask you something else. What about this here Contest? What if I offered you a little something for you to throw the whole thing?"

"What are you saying, exactly?" May shot back accusingly, some of her usual vigor returning. "You want me to throw the Contest for you? How do you even know we're going to be battling each other?"

"Oh, don't you worry about that." The man replied darkly. "I've got that all taken care of. You just agree to throw the match, and you walk out of here with your pockets full."

"No way!" May fired back, heading for the closed door. "Look, sorry, but I'm not interested in your money - "

The man reached the door first, holding it shut against her will. "I'm sorry to hear that. I guess I'll have to use another method, then."

"Wh-what are you doing?" May cried worriedly, shaking the doorknob. "Let me out of here!"

"Sorry." The man repeated, chuckling darkly to himself as May heard the telltale _crack_ of a Pokeball being opened.

"Sevi-iper..."

May spun around in an instant, realizing all too quickly what was about to happen. _"No...he wouldn't..."_

"Seviper! Do it!"

"Se-VIPER!" His Seviper hissed, charging across the room with fangs bared. In the dark, May's reaction time was slowed, heightening her confusion as well, and Seviper had no trouble landing right next to her and sinking its teeth into her left arm.

"Aagh!" May shrieked, clutching her arm in pain as Seviper reeled back from the strike, watching her closely, waiting to strike again.

It never got the chance. One of her Pokeballs burst open of its own accord from her fanny pack, causing Combusken to appear between May and Seviper.

"COOOM-BUSKEN!" Combusken roared angrily, enraged at the enemy Pokemon for striking his trainer.

"What's this?" The man said. "Seviper, get rid of it!"

"Seviper!" Seviper hissed again, jumping forward to attack Combusken with another Poison Fang. Combusken, however, wasn't exactly in the mood for playing around.

"Combusken!" Combusken bellowed, quickly dodging to the side. As Seviper sailed past him, he turned and delivered a punishing Sky Uppercut to its hide, sending it crashing into the opposite wall. Leaving it no time to recover, Combusken then proceeded to blast it with Fire Spin as it collapsed on the floor.

"Grah! What is this - !" The man cried angrily. "Seviper! Wrap it now!"

"Se...viper..." Seviper muttered weakly. It slowly drew itself up as Fire Spin dissipated and launched itself at Combusken again.

"Cooombusken!" Combusken bellowed one final time, unleashing another Sky Uppercut on the impossibly slow Seviper and slamming it against the ceiling. Seviper slowly crashed to the floor, unconscious.

"...You...!" The man growled in disgust, recalling his fallen Pokemon.

"Com!" Combusken shot back threateningly, leering at the man. He remained there for a moment, then retreated back into the dark confines of the room.

A few seconds later, May heard a door slam. She was still lying in a heap on the floor, leaning against the door she'd come in at, clutching her wounded arm.

"Combusken...?" Combusken asked slowly, placing his arm on her shoulder.

"N-no...thanks, Combusken, b-but...I..." She mumbled softly. She reached behind her, into her pack, and drew out an Antidote spray, which she quickly applied to the wound. A few seconds later, she rose to her feet. "I think I'm fine now..."

"Combusken!" Combusken cheered.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	14. Chapter 14: New Plans

Meanwhile, back on the stage, Drew made it through the Appeals round as well with Roselia, and Harley with Banette, as well as a handful of other noteworthy Coordinators.

May, however, didn't even make it back to the lobby for quite a while. When she finally did return, she came in with a slightly less upbeat aura about her than usual, and she had a white cloth tied around her left arm, as well.

Drew approached her not long after her return, one hand stuck in his pocket as usual. "So? Where were you? You missed all the other Appeals, you know."

May looked up at him slowly from her spot on one of the benches in the lobby. "Wh-what do you mean? I was just in the bathroom..."

Drew frowned back at her. "Really? That's not something I'd expect to hear from someone like you."

"What?" May repeated, raising her voice slightly. "It's not like I can help it or anything!"

Drew held her gaze for a moment. Then he noticed the cloth tied tightly around her arm. "Well then, mind explaining what exactly that is?"

"It's called a ribbon, Drew." She shot back coolly, now just wishing that he would stop asking questions. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Drew glanced at the cloth, then at May's face, then finally at the flower Ash had given her. It was still sitting firmly on the bridge of her ear, allowing the actual flower to sit in front with the rest of her face. "Fine. I'll just pretend I didn't notice any of this." He said, throwing his free hand up in defeat. "Just don't say I didn't try."

When the Battle Round began, Drew was first, against a female Coordinator with a Seadra. He won with his Masquerain, but only by a hair - the timer expired when he had a slight lead in points. A pair of Coordinators that they didn't know were up next, a guy with a Gligar against a guy with a Loudred. The Gligar won by a pretty wide spread.

May was up next.

"All right, Pokemon fans!" Lilian roared jubilantly into the microphone. "Put your hands together for the next matchup of this Pokemon Contest's second round! First up is...May!"

May ran out onto the stage again as the crowd roared with applause, cheery as ever, but there was a also a small twinge of worry in the back of her mind. "All right, Eevee, on stage!"

"Eevee!" The small brown quadruped chimed happily, emerging onto the Contest stage for the very first time.

"And facing off against May today...it's Harley!" Lilian boomed over the deafening roar of the audience.

May recoiled slightly as she watched Harley prance out onto the stage, standing opposite her.

Ash, Max, Brock, and even Pikachu all narrowed their gazes from up in the stands as they watched him.

"Well, isn't this a delightful surprise!" Harley said sweetly, leering at May.

"Delightful for who?" May shot back.

"You..." Harley grunted angrily. "Cacturne, darling! Come to papa!"

"Cacturne!" The large cactus-like Pokemon grunted, emerging onto the field across from Eevee.

"All right...let the battle begin!" Lilian announced, the five-minute timer on the oversized scoreboard behind her beginning to count down.

"Go, Eevee! Use Tackle, now!" May commanded, gesturing across the field to Cacturne.

"Ee!" Eevee chimed, taking off across the battlefield at a run towards the enemy Pokemon.

"Cacturne, use Needle Arm!"

"Cac-turne!" Cacturne cried in affirmation, taking off across the field as well. Crossing his arms in front of him in an X-shape, all the small needles began to glow white and grow in size as he closed the distance toward Eevee.

"Eevee, quick, use Dig!"

"Ee-vee!" Eevee cried, quickly burrowing a shallow tunnel under Cacturne's feet, not ever breaking stride. Cacturne swung its arms at thin air as Eevee slid into the tunnel, emerging behind a momentarily distracted Cacturne.

"Now! Use Shadow Ball!"

"Eevee!" Eevee squeaked, firing a ball of black energy from its mouth at Cacturne's exposed back.

"A beautifully executed Dig Dodge from May and Eevee!" Lilian boomed, as Harley's points meter on the scoreboard went down slightly.

"Way to go, May!" Max cried from the stands. "That was great using Dig like that!"

Brock nodded happily. "Yeah. I didn't know Eevee knew how to Dig that quickly."

"Cacturne! Needle Arm again!"

Out of the smoke cloud from Shadow Ball, Cacturne swung around, the needles on its arms still enlarged and glowing. It swung its arms wildly at Eevee a second later.

"Eevee, quick!" May called. "Dodge, and - "

She stopped suddenly, a wave of pain rushing through her body and nearly overwhelming her. She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth, grabbing the white cloth she'd tied over the Poison Fang wound.

"Huh?" Max said quizzically, gaping at his sister. "What's going on? Why'd she stop?"

"Ee...?" Eevee said questioningly, glancing around Cacturne to its trainer.

Harley merely smirked at this, gesturing to his own Pokemon. "Do it, Cacturne!"

"Caac-turne!" Cacturne roared, swatting Eevee across the field harshly with both arms.

"Eeeeeee!" Eevee roared painfully, flying across the stage and slamming into the wall.

"And Eevee takes a double Needle Arm in the face! That doesn't look good for May's points!" Lilian announced as May's points meter took a significant hit.

"Now, Cacturne! Pin Missile!"

"Cac-turne!" Cacturne bellowed, every needle on its body glowing this time as they shot off toward Eevee, one by one.

"Tch...!" May grunted, biting her lip for a moment to try and ease the pain. "E-Eevee! Use Shadow Ball again!"

"Ee...Eevee!" Eevee grunted, picking itself up off the floor before firing off another Shadow Ball toward the oncoming Pin Missile. Most of the pins hit the Ball and were destroyed, but a few got through, which Eevee dodged easily.

"A stylish Shadow Ball deflection from Eevee! But is it enough to put May back in the fight?" Lilian continued, as Harley's meter evened out with May's.

"Cacturne, keep the pressure on!" Harley commanded jubilantly. "Use Faint Attack!"

"Cac!" Cacturne boomed, charging across the stage toward the vulnerable Eevee.

"Eevee! Use - !" May began before being interrupted again by another rush of pain from her wound. She gripped the cloth harder, shooting a sad glance to her Eevee as Cacturne closed it on it.

"Cac-turne!" Cacturne finished, quickly spinning in a fake-out before slamming one of its barbed fists into Eevee's chest, sending it soaring across the field for a second time.

"And Harley's Cacturne delivers another devastating blow to Eevee!" Lilian announced. "But what is going on with May? Why isn't she giving her Eevee any orders?"

May continued gripping the white cloth with all her might, attempting to channel the pain, but it wasn't working. It was all she could do just to remain standing. Her legs began shaking as she remained there, helpless.

"Finish it, Cacturne!" Harley cried, ignoring May's situation. "Use Pin Missile once more!"

"Cactuuuurne!" Cacturne bellowed, firing off another barrage of needles.

"Eee...vee..." Eevee grunted, still trying to get up from being thrown across the field by Faint Attack. With no time to prepare, and no orders from May, there was nothing it could do against the Pin Missile attack: every single needle punctured Eevee's soft flesh, sticking it full of two dozen barbs from Cacturne. "VEEEEEEE!"

Ash, Max, and Brock all gasped at once, jumping up out of their seats as Eevee took the attack head-on. It remained standing for a few seconds, struggling with one eye open to remain in the fight, then it collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

"Well, there you have it, folks!" Lilian announced as the crowd exploded yet again. "Harley and Cacturne win the match, and will continue on to the Finals!"

Ash looked over at May from up in the stands. He noticed the white cloth tied around her arm for the first time, and saw that she was clutching it in a deathgrip. _"What's that...? That wasn't there before..."_

May was now struggling to hold back tears, both from the immense pain she had just felt and from knowing that she had let Eevee down, and allowed it to get hurt. As Harley recalled Cacturne and happily strutted off the field, she slowly made her way over to Eevee, still in a heap on the floor.

"Eevee...I'm sorry..." She whispered to it, retrieving its Pokeball from her pack. "It's my fault that you lost...that this happened to you..." She recalled it into its ball and drew herself up, walking off the stage after Harley.

Ash, Max, and Brock proceeded to exit the stands a short while later, heading back to the lobby to meet up with May. Once they arrived, Max and Brock instantly went over to May, but Ash was stopped before he could by a strange hand from behind him. It pulled him off to the side, around a corner and out of sight of his friends.

"Hey!" He cried angrily. "What do you think you're - "

"Whoa, sorry." Trey replied hastily, holding up his hands in defense. "Didn't mean to get you mad or anything."

Ash stared at him for a second and blinked. "Trey!"

"Pika!"

"Hey." Trey answered indifferently, waving a hand. "Look, I just wanted to let you know - you know how the Battle Frontier's shut down for right now?"

Ash nodded knowingly. "Yeah, Spenser told us about it right before we left the city."

"Well, it still is, but Brandon, the King of the Battle Pyramid, the seventh and final battle facility, is actually heading over to Sinnoh pretty soon, and Cinnabar Island happens to be on his way there."

Ash racked his brains for a moment. "...Sinnoh...?"

This time, it was Trey's turn to stare back in confusion. "You mean you've never heard of the Sinnoh region?"

Ash shook his head, along with Pikachu. "Nope."

"Well, it's an island region down south of here. Anyway, apparently he's willing to stop off on Cinnabar Island and accept challengers for one day only, and if we win, it'll be just like we beat the entire Frontier." Trey explained.

"Wow, really?" Ash replied excitedly. "So what day is he gonna be there?"

"Exactly two days from now."

"T-two days?" Ash responded incredulously.

"Pika?"

"That's barely even enough time to get there from here!"

"Yeah, I know." Trey answered, waving a hand understandably. "Me and Lily are leaving later tonight to head over there. You guys should hurry, too, if you want to have a shot at catching him in time."

"Well, thanks for telling me." Ash said, grinning at the fellow trainer. "But, uh...why'd you pull me off around this corner? Why didn't you just tell everyone?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that." Trey replied, scratching his head idly. "I just thought that your friend looked sick or something, with that injury and all. I didn't want to - "

"Injury? What injury?" Ash demanded at once.

Trey blinked. "You serious? I meant that white bandage on her arm - that's some kind of injury, right?"

Ash mentally slapped himself for not realizing that piece of information sooner. He quickly thanked Trey for the information and made his way back around the corner, toward his friends...and more importantly, May.

* * *

_That's it for this chunk of updates! _

_Please R&R!_


	15. Chapter 15: Delayed

_It's that time of...summer...again? I don't know, never mind._

_Big moment in the fic is coming up, so get ready for that. Although, most of the chapters around this time were a lot shorter than usual, so there's that, as well._

* * *

"Are you sure you're all right?" Brock was saying as Ash approached the group from behind. He was staring hard at May with a worried look on his face.

"I already told you, I'm fine." May answered. "I just..."

"I still think you should let someone see that." Brock insisted. "Why didn't you tell us you got hurt?"

"I guess I didn't think it was that big of a deal." May answered slowly, glancing at the white cloth still wrapped around the wound. "I just tripped and skinned my arm, it's not exactly a - "

"You sure?" Max cut in, examining the makeshift bandage closely. "I don't know, sis, you looked pretty bad out there..."

"Yeah." Ash agreed, speaking up. "You sure you're all right, May?"

May glanced at Ash, as if noticing him for the first time. "Come on, you guys, I'm fine! Could you stop asking already?"

There was a momentary silence among them as they continued to examine May silently. Then Brock's eyes focused on the green flower still in her hair. "All right, so where'd you get that flower?"

May's mouth fell open, but no sound came out for a moment. "It...uh..."

"Yeah, May, who gave it to you?" Max prodded. "Was it Drew?"

"No...I-I..." May stammered, looking to Ash for support, who was staring blankly at her. "I just bought it for myself..."

"Really?" Brock replied quizzically.

"Why'd you do that?" Max asked, a hint of disgust in his voice.

"You know...for the Contest." May continued, confidence slowly returning to her voice. "I thought it might be nice to do something a little different..."

"If you say so..." Max trailed off.

"Anyway." Brock began, his voice turning serious. "Where are we headed next? I had planned to stay here a little longer, but, well..."

May caught his meaning and bowed her head slightly. "Yeah."

"Oh, that's right!" Ash cut in excitedly, causing everyone to turn and look at him. "I just saw Trey back there. He said that the Battle Pyramid is gonna be on Cinnabar Island in two days!"

"Only two days away?" Max cried in disbelief.

"The Battle Pyramid?" Brock said, putting a hand to his chin. "Don't you need the other six symbols to challenge it, though?"

"Yeah, most of the time. But since the Battle Frontier is shut down right now, he said they're accepting any challengers on that one day." Ash explained quickly.

"Makes sense, I guess." Brock said. "Well, if we're heading there next, we'll have to leave by tomorrow morning."

Ash nodded. "All right, then!" He turned to Pikachu, perched on his shoulder as usual. "You excited, buddy?"

"Pi, pikachu!"

A short while later, they had made their way out of the Contest Hall and off the beach, and were making their way through the city streets back to the Pokemon Center.

May, who was walking in the back, behind Max, noticed a fair number of people glancing at her in wonder, most of them boys. She had never had a reputation for such things, so she considered this highly unusual. Max must have noticed it, too.

"Hey, May, why do all those guys keep looking at you?" Max whispered back to her. "It's kinda weird."

"I dunno..." She answered softly, avoiding their glances. She subconsciously brought a hand up to her face, fingering the flower Ash had given her. She glanced at the back of Ash's head, who appeared to be conversing with Brock about something, probably Pokemon related, she figured. Holding the glance for a moment, she smiled to herself before looking away again.

Suddenly, an enormous wave of pain rushed through her body, dulling her senses and throwing her to the ground almost instantly.

Max turned around when he heard her fall, and his eyes widened in shock at what he saw. "M-May? What's wrong?"

Ash and Brock turned as well, and all three of them rushed to May's side at once. "May! Are you all right?" Brock demanded.

"I...yeah...I'm fine..." May breathed, attempting to get back up. But as soon as she shifted her weight, another rush of pain was triggered, and she toppled to the ground in a heap.

"May?" Brock repeated.

"Come on, sis!"

"MAY!" Ash cried finally, staring at this unconscious friend with concern in his eyes.

They had quickly taken May to the city's hospital after that, or rather, Brock had carried her there and Ash and Max had followed. After removing her makeshift bandage, the doctor had easily discovered it to be a Poison Fang wound from a Seviper. Despite all of them wondering why she hadn't simply told them the truth, they were all extremely concerned for her, especially Max. When the doctor had explained to them the severity of the wound, Max had almost started crying.

Now, it was later that night, and a full moon was in the sky, clearly visible through the window in May's room. She had recently awoken, and soon discovered where she was: lying in a hospital bed.

"I still don't get it, sis..." Max said slowly, his eyes locked on the two harsh fang marks still visible on her arm. "w-why didn't you just tell us?"

"This could've been a lot worse." Brock reasoned. "Attacks like that weren't meant to be used on a human."

"I - I know." May answered softly. "I'm sorry...I guess I just...didn't want to make a big deal about it..."

Both her bandana and her flower had been removed when she was put into the bed. The flower was sitting in a new vase from the hospital on the table beside her, and her bandana was neatly folded and set on the same table.

"Well, I guess we can't change that, now." Brock continued. "Try and get some rest."

"Yeah..." Max added, staring at the floor.

May looked at him for a moment, then caught his meaning and spoke up. "Don't worry, Max...I'll be okay."

"...Yeah..." Max repeated, sniffing.

"Come on." Brock said softly, placing a hand on his back as they walked out of the room. Ash was about to follow them, but then he glanced at her from across the room, and changed his mind.

"Hey, buddy..." Ash began in a whisper, turning to Pikachu.

"Pi?" Pikachu answered questioningly. Ash nodded in response, and Pikachu promptly jumped down off his shoulder and exited the room after Max and Brock.

"Ash?" May asked slowly, her eyes following him as he took a seat next to her bed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing...I just...um..."

"...Listen, Ash...about the Battle Pyramid..."

"Huh?" Ash answered, mentally stopping in his tracks. This was not what he'd planned to talk to her about. "W-what about it?"

"...You...you've got to go ahead without me."

"What? No way!" Ash responded at once. "I'm not gonna leave you here!"

"It's okay...Max and Brock will still be here, I'll be fine..." May continued softly.

"It's not okay!"

"Ash, it's only going to be on Cinnabar Island for one day." May insisted, her voice still somewhat weak. Her eyes betrayed her condition as well, appearing red and sickly. "If you don't leave in the morning..."

"Yeah, I know!" Ash shot back. "But..."

"What?"

"But...what about you? I can't just leave you here!"

"I told you...Max and Brock will still be here, they'll take care of me. You've got to go on ahead, we'll meet up with you - "

"But - I - " Ash stammered, shooting his glance to the floor behind locking eyes with May. "I can't go without you!"

May's eyes widened, but no sound came from her mouth. She simply held his gaze, a faint blush creeping onto her face.

"I - I can't!" Ash continued, showing a level of emotion almost unknown to him. "If I went without you, it wouldn't even matter anymore!"

"A-Ash..." She breathed softly.

"That's why I have to stay here!" Ash went on, tears beginning to cascade down his face. "You've got to get better, May, you just have to! Without you...I..."

The two held each the others' gaze for a long while before Ash continued.

"I...I don't even know what I'm feeling...or why...but I know one thing." Ash continued, looking at her with a defiant gaze that May had only ever seen him give in a Pokemon battle. He took her weak hand and clasped both of his around it. "I'm not leaving...not until you're okay again."

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	16. Chapter 16: Love

_Here we are! Have fun with it, guys._

* * *

Ash, Brock, and Max were all given permission to stay in the hospital that night instead of the Pokemon Center. They all simply found chairs in the hall near May's room, and tried to best to imagine that they were somewhat comfortable. Pikachu curled up on the floor underneath Ash's chair, which actually proved to be a better choice than the chairs anyway.

The following morning, May was given an IV with the antidote for Seviper's poison in it. The doctor said that she would need to stay in the hospital for at least another day or two, to make sure that the antidote was working as it was supposed to.

A short while later, Ash, Brock and Max were all gathered around May's bed, conversing with her idly, when there was a short knock on the door.

"Yes?" Brock responded, turning to face the door as it swung open slowly, and Trey and Lily walked into the room.

"Hey, guys." Trey greeted, closing the door behind them.

"We heard about what happened to May!" Lily explained, turning to May with a solemn face. "I'm so sorry!"

"Thanks, you guys." May replied gratefully. There was a new bandage wrapped around the spot where they'd given her the IV, in a similar spot to where she had tied the white cloth herself earlier.

"If you don't mind me asking..." Brock began, glancing at Trey curiously. "Who exactly did you hear about this from?"

Trey looked away from him strangely. "One of my...old friends. He called me last night and told us about...a girl he'd seen at the Contest, who broke down halfway through one of the battles." He glanced at May as he continued. "We recognized the description of you from what he told us, and it kind of went from there."

"We were just going to the boat to Cinnabar Island. Aren't you coming, too, Ash?" Lily asked, both Trey and herself turning to face Ash, who avoided their gazes.

"Um...well..."

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Max exclaimed suddenly, looking at Ash excitedly. "You can go on ahead and fight this Pyramid King guy, and then we can meet you there later, after May gets better!"

"Yeah, it makes sense." Brock added happily. "You should go."

Ash stared back at all of them helplessly. What was he supposed to say? He hadn't expected everyone to jump on that idea so soon.

_"Poor Ash..."_ May thought to herself sadly as she watched him from her bed. _"I know how much he wanted this..."_

"Um..." Ash repeated lamely, scratching his head in anxiety.

"Ash? You coming?" Trey offered again. "The boat leaves pretty soon, we've got to hurry."

"What's wrong?" Brock asked, looking at him worriedly.

"Listen...um...thanks for the idea, but I already decided to stay here until...May gets better." Ash stammered, staring at the floor.

Everyone in the room besides Ash and May gasped audibly. "What?" Max retorted.

"Pi-ka?" Pikachu spoke up. Ash had forgotten to tell him what had happened with May in her room the previous night.

"But Ash - !" Brock began in protest.

"You sure about that?" Trey asked. "The Battle Pyramid's leaving for Sinnoh later tonight. If you don't leave now, you're going to miss it."

"Y-yeah, I know."

They all continued staring at him quizzically, trying to figure out if he was serious or not, until the sound of the door opening again caused them all to turn.

"Excuse me..." The doctor began politely, not even walking into the room fully. "I'm sorry, but we do have a limit on the number of guests allowed per patient. Also, she has just been given an injection...she needs space."

Trey and Lily glanced at each other, then to Ash.

"All right...if you're sure." Trey said. "I guess we'll see you guys later."

"I hope you feel better, May!" Lily said cheerfully, waving to them.

The doctor moved out of the way so that the two of them could exit the room. "Two more, please. After an injection like that, what she really needs is rest, but one guest is allowed, if she wishes."

The remaining three glanced at each other. "Guess that's you, Max." Brock said, chuckling.

Max nodded. "Don't worry, you guys, I'll - "

"Wait a minute." May cut in softly. "I'm...sorry, Max, but...could Ash stay with me, instead?"

"Huh? Why would you want Ash to stay?" Max remarked, slightly offended. Brock stared at her in confusion as well.

"I just want to...talk to him about something." May explained, bending the truth as much as she could.

Max and Brock glanced at each other, not noticing Ash staring at her defiantly. "All right, I guess." Max obliged grudgingly.

"Come on, we should probably head back to the Pokemon Center and make sure our room's still ours." Brock said as the two of them walked out of the room, along with Pikachu, who had gotten a similar notion to the previous night. This allowed the doctor to finally close the door happily, which left Ash and May alone in the room together, just like the night before.

"Um..." Ash began nervously, walking around the edge of her bed to the side where her bandaged arm was. "W-what's going on?"

May simply smiled up at him weakly. "Thanks for staying."

"Sure, no problem..." Ash replied slowly, looking at her confusedly. "But, why didn't you want Max to stay with you?"

"It's not that I...didn't want him to stay. I just...I had to pick just one, right?"

"Um...yeah." Ash answered, oblivious as ever. "So...?"

May's eyes narrowed affectionately, recognizing his ignorance. "Listen...remember what you said last night?"

"...Yeah..." Ash replied slowly, still not sensing where she was going with this.

"Well...I was thinking about it last night, after you left..." May continued, shifting her gaze to the ceiling as she recalled the event. "I think I understand what you were saying, when you told me you didn't want to leave."

"Really?" Ash questioned. "Well, I don't. I just said what's been on my mind..."

May shifted her gaze back to him, the smile never leaving her face. "I guess I've been thinking about the same things, then." She said, giggling.

"Huh?" Ash muttered as May reached out with her injured arm, grasping his hand with hers. "May...?"

She continued grinning back at him, her own eyes locked with his. She secretly wished that she wasn't confined to her bed, or she would have sat herself up and done something more. As it was, she had to sit back and wait for Ash to pick up on her meaning. And part of her was just fine with that.

He remained silent, glancing back and forth between their joined hands and her face, as if trying to decide what to do next. A moment later, he stood up uncertainly, lowering their hands to the side without breaking them apart. He continued watching her for a moment hesitantly, then leaned forward toward her. She managed to briefly boost her head up at that moment, catching his mouth with hers on the way down.

Ash nearly jumped at the feeling, but quickly calmed himself, forcing his eyes shut. Even if May had wanted to, she couldn't have moved an inch, immobilized by the sudden rush of mutual affection now flowing between them.

"You didn't tell her it was me, did you?" Will asked worriedly, glancing accusingly at his younger brother.

"Look, I don't know what you're trying to do, or why, and I don't really care." Trey shot back. "But no, I didn't. Will you leave us alone now?"

Trey and Lily had been standing out on the deck of the ferry to Cinnabar Island, which had recently shoved off from Chrysanthemum Island. However, shortly afterwords, Will, Trey's older brother, had found them and immediately begun asking Trey a slew of questions about his 'visit' to the hospital.

"I just don't want to get caught. I didn't think you knew that dumb girl." Will explained arrogantly.

"She's not dumb. In fact, she's probably smarter than you. She probably wouldn't have lost that battle if you hadn't poisoned her!"

"Yeah, yeah. Look, it's not like it's lethal or anything. She wouldn't cooperate, what was I supposed to do?"

"Gee, Will, I don't know." Trey fired back sarcastically. "Maybe, compete yourself and, _wow_, actually train?"

"Grah." Will grunted in response. "It doesn't matter anymore, as long you didn't tell her. I'll see you around."

With that, he turned and lumbered away from the two of them, but Trey didn't speak again until he was out of sight.

"_That's_ the guy you've told me about?" Lily asked in disgust.

"Yeah, I know." Trey said in agreement. "Not exactly the most charming guy around, is he?"

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	17. Chapter 17: Keep A Secret

_Now the not so interesting transitionary chapters start popping up. Eh. What can I say._

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, May pulled away, lowering herself back down to the bed with a noticeable flush of red on her face. Ash remained hovering over her for a moment, watching her blankly, before blinking and retreating from her bed, blushing as well.

"Um..." Ash choked out, shifting his gaze to the floor almost instantly, as if realizing what had just happened.

May giggled at his shyness. "Yes, Ash?"

"I...um...well..." Ash stammered, unable to look her in the eye. "Th-that...it...that was...nice..."

"You...thought so?"

Ash glanced up at her sheepishly, subconsciously aware of the fact that they were still holding hands. "I - I guess so...I don't really know about...that kind of stuff..."

"That's okay." May assured him, giggling again. "I...I liked it...too."

The two let the silence linger for a moment, watching each other closely, still processing what was happening.

"Uh...s-so..." Ash began uncertainly, keeping his eyes locked on her this time. "Wh-what does this...?"

"I'm...not sure." May answered honestly, glancing at their joined hands, which were now resting on the edge of her bed. "I just...I've just been feeling so different about you these last few days...it just felt like the right thing to do."

Ash nodded hesitantly. "Y-yeah. I felt the same way - I even had a dream about you once, when we first got to Fuchsia City."

May's eyes widened, recalling the dream that she had had about Ash. "Really? You had a...dream...about me?"

"Well...sort of. Remember those two trainers that we fought back in Hoenn? Oscar and Andi?"

"I think so...the guys who taught us how to Tag Battle?"

Ash nodded, bringing his head up a little further as he slowly regained confidence in his words. "Yeah. I dreamed about that battle we had with them..."

"You mean the one we lost?" May cut in playfully. "From what I remember, they were convinced that me and you were in love or something..."

"Yeah...well...in my dream, we...um...beat them..."

"Really?"

"It just got me thinking...I know it wasn't real...but when we did battle them, they called our Tag Battle a contest of love..." Ash continued nervously. "And then I went out and got you that dumb flower..."

"What?" May replied, surprised by his words. "That flower wasn't dumb! I thought it was beautiful!"

Ash looked back at her, equally surprised. "R-really?"

"Of course! Why would I have told you all that stuff when you gave it to me if I didn't?" May continued, reaching across with her free hand to stroke the plant affectionately. "Trust me, Ash, I love it...and...I..."

Ash watched her closely, letting the tension hang in the air, looking almost afraid at what she might say next.

May noticed this, and thought about what she was about to say. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go flinging words around that she didn't fully comprehend the meaning of, especially in this situation.

"...I really like you, too, Ash." She finished, smiling softly at him.

Ash looked somewhat relieved, but remained as apprehensive as he had been before. "I...I think I like you, too."

"I wonder what that was all about?" Max asked as himself and Brock stepped out of the hospital lobby into the brightly sunlit city street.

"I don't know." Brock admitted, folding his arms across his chest. "Seems like a pretty unusual request, coming from May."

"Yeah, I know."

"But then again, those two _have_ been acting a little strange lately..." Brock continued, causing Max to glance at him in confusion.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, there was that night back in Fuchsia City." Brock began, not stopping his steady pace down the street. "Ash and Spenser had gone to the Battle Palace to see what was going on, but when we got to the Pokemon Center, May took off without an explanation to go find them."

"Oh yeah, I remember now." Max added. "And then Trey went after her, right?"

Brock nodded in response. "And then there was Lily. According to Ash, when May and him first found her in the back of the Battle Palace, she thought that the two of them were a couple."

"WHAT?" Max exclaimed in shock. "Ash...and my sister...?"

"Yep." Brock confirmed, chuckling at the young boy's reaction. "And now there's that green flower..."

"Huh? What about it?" Max questioned, confused by all of the evidence Brock was presenting. "May said she bought it herself."

"I know, but think about it for a minute. When did she have time to do that?" Brock challenged. "She didn't have it when we saw her at the beach, and we saw her go into the Contest Hall to register ourselves. But..."

"What?"

"Where was Ash during all that? I don't remember seeing him at the beach with us." Brock said.

Max was silent for a minute. "I'm sure he was somewhere...you know...doing...Pokemon things."

"Hmm." Brock responded, not convinced. "And what happened just now? She asked for Ash to stay instead of her own brother."

"What are you trying to say?" Max asked finally, halting his thus-steady pace and turning to face Brock with a defiant look in his eye.

"Look, I'm not even sure about this. All I'm saying is that there's a lot of strange stuff that doesn't all add up."

Max turned back to the hospital building, still visible at the end of the street. "Should we go back and talk to them?"

Brock laughed at this. "No, that's all right. If there is something going on, I'm sure we'll find out eventually."

About half an hour later, the doctor knocked on the door of May's room lightly. When there was no response, he slowly pushed it open, only to be met with the sight of May lying in bed, as usual, with Ash's head slumped over on the edge of the bed. Both of them appeared to be sound asleep.

The doctor stared at this scene for moment quizzically, noticing that Ash's right hand was holding her left, positioned near his head on the bed.

_"Well, well. I wasn't aware that these two were..."_

The doctor remained standing there a moment, staring at the two of them, before turning and leaving the room with a smile, flipping off the lights as he went.

_"Ah, well. They do look nice together."_

_

* * *

Please R&R!  
_


	18. Chapter 18: Battle Pyramid Brawl

Ash and May remained asleep for the next hour or so, around which time Brock and Max had finished sorting things out at the Pokemon Center and had already begun to head back to the hospital, along with Pikachu.

Once they arrived, they asked the doctor if it was alright for them to go in, who simply chuckled and said yes. Clearly not getting the joke, they simply thanked him and made their way to May's room on the second floor.

"Huh, that's weird." Brock commented as they approached the door to her room. He noticed the darkness present around the edges of the door. "It looks like the lights are off..."

"Pika?"

"Maybe they're sleeping or something?" Max suggested, shrugging.

"Yeah, but why would the doctor tell us that it was alright to see her?" Brock pointed out, putting a hand to his chin. "It doesn't make sense..."

"Maybe they were awake the last he saw them?" Max countered, shrugging off Brock's argument as he opened the door. "You're just thinkin' too much - "

Max froze on the spot when he saw Ash slouched over in a chair, his face lying on the edge of May's bed, both of them asleep. He was too short to see their clasped hands on the other side of Ash, but he stared in confusion nonetheless.

"Huh? What the - ?"

"Pi-ka..." Pikachu gasped in wonder.

Brock entered the room behind him, staring at the pair as well in surprise. He did notice the two of them holding hands in their sleep, but decided not to divulge that particular fact to Max. Instead, he merely chuckled and crossed his arms. "Looks like someone's having good dreams."

"What?" Max cried, turning to Brock in shock.

"Uuuh..." Ash groaned, slowly waking up from his sleep, blinking his eyes open. After a few seconds, his eyes focused, and he saw Max and Brock standing in the doorway, staring at him. "Uuh...huh?"

"Ash, what's goin' on?" Max demanded, as Brock closed the door behind them and flipped on the lights, causing Ash to recoil.

"Ah...wh...what do you mean?" Ash replied, still half-asleep as he squinted his eyes momentarily to allow them to adjust to the light. As he sat up, however, Max caught sight of his hand holding May's.

"Huh?" Max cried again, locking his gaze on the two joined hands.

"Uh - !" Ash choked out, realizing what he had just done. He swiftly yanked his own hand away from May's and shot his friends an innocent expression. "Well...uh..."

"Ash, what're you doin' holding hands with my sister?" Max demanded. "Do you remember who she is?"

"I...uh...it's not what it looked like..." Ash defended lamely, scratching his head in anxiety as May slowly awoke beside him.

"Piika...?" Pikachu asked softly, approaching Ash's feet.

"Uh...hey, buddy..." He greeted awkwardly.

"May!" Max continued, turning to his now-awake sister instead as Pikachu tentatively clambered up to Ash's shoulder. "What's goin' on?"

"Huh?" May replied confusedly, turning to Ash for help. He frowned back at her with a worried look in his eye, telling her that they had been caught. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"I saw it! You and Ash were holding hands while you were sleeping!"

"It wasn't like that...see..." May explained slowly, making something up as fast as she could. "I was just...in a lot of pain, and I told Ash it would just make me feel better if I had someone to...hold on...to?"

"And...uh...we must've just fallen asleep like that." Ash finished, also rather lamely.

"But that's so weird!" Max exclaimed. "Why would you want Ash to hold your hand? Why would Ash even want to?"

"Uh...well...you know..." Ash replied, not actually saying much of anything.

As Max continued to interrogate the two of them, Brock remained standing off near the door, watching the two of them closely as something finally clicked in his brain.

The next day, Trey and Lily's ferry arrived at Cinnabar Island. They noticed Will disembarking as they too got off, but didn't pay it much mind.

After spending an hour or two perusing the city together, they finally decided to make their way to the Battle Pyramid, which was readily visible floating off the coast of the island. After taking a short shuttle ride across the gap of water, they stepped off onto the metallic structure for the first time.

"Wow, this place is pretty cool!" Lily exclaimed as they made their way to the large doors leading inside. "I'd sure like to have my own personal flying pyramid."

"Yeah, it's pretty big." Trey agreed. "I wonder how they get the fuel to fly this thing everywhere?"

Once inside, they continued down a long one-way corridor similar to the one at the Battle Palace, only the walls were made of metal instead of stone. As they drew closer to the arena, they heard consistent battle cries from both people and Pokemon coming from the end of the hallway.

Once they reached the end of the corridor, they found a massive open room again similar to the one at the Palace. The floor was brown dirt this time, and the walls were light blue stone with strange carvings etched into them. On the battlefield, however, they found Will standing there, facing off against the Pyramid King.

"What?" Trey cried in disbelief. "What do you think you're - !"

"Hm? Oh, it's just you - don't distract me!" Will shot back angrily. He had changed out of his old attire and was now wearing a simple black t-shirt which complimented his long dark hair nicely, along with denim jeans. "Come on, Yanmega! Use Air Slash!"

"Yan!" Will's Yanmega roared deeply from the battlefield, quickly growing tired from battling with Brandon. It quickly drew itself up, however, and thrashed its heavily beating wings forward, sending a flurry of glowing blue streaks across the field at Brandon's Regirock.

"Regirock, Iron Defense!" Brandon commanded. He was clad in the same olive green uniform he always was, complete with the casts wrapped around his ankles.

"Regi-rock-ock!" Regirock grunted in its hollow robotic voice, crossing its arms in an X-shape across its chest. The Air Slash streaks slammed into the rock-solid arms, not even denting Regirock's defenses.

"No! Hit it again, Yanmega!" Will ordered angrily.

"Yaaan!" Yanmega cried again, firing another Air Slash across the field at Regirock, who merely remained in position. It took the attack head-on with no apparent damage yet again.

"Argh! This is stupid!" Will spat. "Yanmega, get it with Giga Impact, now!"

"Ya-an!" Yanmega bellowing, charging across the stadium as a giant lavender-colored aura sprang up all around itself, with large orange streaks running through it.

"Keep it up, Regirock! Iron Defense!" Brandon called.

When Yanmega collided with Regirock this time, Regirock still didn't flinch, but was still pushed backward all the same, Yanmega's attack boring into his Iron Defense. Finally, Regirock swung its arms out in a wide arc, throwing Yanmega off of him and leaving it suspended in midair, struggling to catch its breath.

"Yanmega! What're you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Trey cut in coolly. "It's going to take it a minute to recover from using Giga Impact. Even you should know something like that."

"Shut up!" Will shot back angrily, glaring up at his Pokemon. "Come on, Yanmega! Move!"

"Yan..." Yanmega breathed, panting heavily.

"Finish this, Regirock!" Brandon ordered. "Use Hyper Beam!"

"Regi-rock!" Regirock roared, bringing its two hands together and firing a giant orange beam from the space between them. The beam slammed into Yanmega full force, sending it flying across the chamber and into the opposite stone wall.

"Yanmega is unable to battle, leaving Will, the challenger, with no Pokemon left! The match goes to Brandon and Regirock!" Brandon's referee roared, raising a hand on Brandon's side of the field.

"No! This sucks!" Will spat, angrily recalling his Yanmega.

"Young man!" Brandon bellowed from across the field, glaring defiantly at Will as he silently recalled Regirock. "You do not trust your Pokemon in battle! You order them around like slaves! That is why you could not defeat me!"

"Shut up, _Pyramid King_!" Will fired back, placing a mocking kind of emphasis on the last two words. "I'm gonna beat you next time! Just you shut up and wait!"

Brandon merely grunted in discontent as he watched Will storm out of the chamber. After he was gone, he turned to Trey and Lily. "Excuse me! Are you two here to challenge me as well?"

"Yeah." Trey answered, turning to Lily. He gestured out to the challenger square on the battlefield. "You want to go first?"

"Sure!" Lily said, nodding happily to him. Trey leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss, whispering words of good luck to her as she made her way to the field.

"O-kay!" The referee cried jovially. "This battle will consist of four Pokemon on each side with no substitutes. First one to knock out all of their opponent's Pokemon wins! Are you both ready?"

Brandon nodded gruffly. Lily nodded as well.

"All right! Then let the battle begin!"

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	19. Chapter 19: In Transit

_Okay, that's all for now. But, in good news, we are almost caught up to the original site now, which is on 26 as of today. _

_Also, one of the best mini-arc of the entire story(in my opinion) goes up next time, it's 3 chapters. So I guess you have that to look forward to._

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Ash and May didn't get much of a chance to spend time together, due partly to May's condition, but also because of Max and Brock's newfound suspicions. May ended up spending most of her time sleeping anyway, her body still fighting to recover from the effects of the poison.

Thus, Ash, Brock, and Max were left with little to do while she remained in the hospital. Generally, besides the time they spent watching after her, Brock and Max would retreat to the beach, and Ash would divide his time between staying with them and training with his Pokemon.

However, the night of the second day of this routine, Pikachu decided to confront his human friend. Once they were all back at their room at the Pokemon Center for the night, and Brock and Max were distracted with other things, Pikachu jumped down off of his shoulder as he was heading over to his bed.

"Huh? What's the matter, buddy?"

"Pika, pika." Pikachu began, motioning for Ash to bend down, so that Brock and Max didn't have to hear.

Ash did as was asked, squatting down to Pikachu's level and lowering his voice before he continued. "What's up?"

"Pika, pika, pi-ka-chu." Pikachu started, performing a series of gestures that indicated he was talking about May.

"May? What about her?" Ash asked, not quite what he had expected to talk about.

"Piika..." Pikachu continued slowly. "Pika, pikachu." It brought both of its hands together and smiled in imitation.

"Huh - ?" Ash replied, vaguely beginning to get a sense of what Pikachu was asking.

"Piiika." Pikachu finished, pointing to Ash before making a 'kissy face' at him.

"Wh-what? Come on, buddy, not that again!" Ash shot back defensively, remembering the last time that Pikachu had questioned him about having feelings for May. "I already told you, didn't I? We're...just friends."

"Pika...?"

"Y-yeah, I'm sure. Can you stop asking me already?" Ash assured him with a false sense of confidence in his voice.

"...Pika..." Pikachu said finally in defeat, sighing.

The following morning, May was cleared to leave the hospital, but was advised to still play it safe for the next few days, just in case. She herself claimed to be feeling quite a bit better, but she still seemed slightly weaker than before.

After checking out of both the hospital and the Pokemon Center, they all headed to the port with the intent of heading to Cinnabar Island. Without the Battle Frontier in operation, they had decided to head back to Pallet Town for the moment, and decide what to do after that from there.

The ticket vendor for the ferries was male this time, so Brock acquired his ticket without the need for any intervention from Max this time. As Ash stepped forward to buy the three for himself, May, and Max again, he and May shared a brief glance as they recalled what had happened the last time they had purchased tickets.

Once they were all on the boat, and it had cast off from Chrysanthemum Island, Brock once again found a group of sunbathing women to busy himself with, and Max trailed after him shortly, spending a minute to make sure his sister was all right first.

Once they were alone, save for Pikachu, who was perched on Ash's shoulder as usual, Ash made a point of looking away from her nervously, despite the fact that they were sitting next to each other on the same bench. He couldn't quite tell what she was doing, but he didn't want to risk anything happening in front of Pikachu yet.

May noticed this, and took to looking away from him as well, softly giggling to herself as she did. Before too long, however, she couldn't stand the awkward silence any longer, and turned to him, smiling. "Hey, Ash?"

Ash turned to face her slowly. "Y-yeah?" He stammered in response. He'd never noticed it before - he never noticed much of anything about girls, usually - but it suddenly struck him at that moment how beautiful she was, with her red bandana tied around her head and her brown hair framing her face perfectly, along with the flower he'd given her filling the space between her hair and face.

"I was about to head...over there..." She continued, motioning vaguely to somewhere behind him. "But I just wanted to tell you again...thanks for staying with me that night. That really...helped me a lot."

She blushed faintly as she spoke, causing Ash to blush as well, which Pikachu noticed at once. "Y-yeah...no problem."

She began to walk away, but she hadn't taken two steps when the steady rocking of the boat caused her, in her still-recovering state, to lose her balance. She began to fall over, but before she could even cry out for help, Ash had leapt up from his seat and grabbed her under both shoulders.

May stared for a second before she realized what had happened, why she was no longer falling. She turned her face slowly and saw Ash staring at her intently, holding her up.

"Uh...you okay?"

"Yeah." May answered softly, nodding to him as a small smile appeared on her face.

"You probably shouldn't be walking in a place like this." Ash told her, indicating the unsteady floor of the boat. "You're still recovering, you know."

"Y-yeah. You're right."

"Here..." Ash said, shifting positions and bringing her right arm over his head and around his neck, placing his left arm around her waist as he did so.

"Pika...?" Pikachu said softly, but neither of the two answered him.

"Thanks." May told him softly, looking intently into his eyes. The two of them locked gazes for a moment, and looked as if they were about to share another kiss, but then they remembered that Pikachu was with them.

"So...um...where did you...?" Ash asked her.

May giggled and motioned to the railing at the edge of the deck, overlooking the water. "Over there is fine."

Ash nodded and led the two of them across the deck to the railing edge. The two of them stood there for a while, looking out at the water, and although it was another period of silence between them, it felt completely different than the awkward silence of before. The two felt safe, secure, somehow, in the other's arms. And that was all they really needed at that moment.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	20. Chapter 20: Day of Black Pyramid

_Here we go, the first multi-part chapter so far. Hope you guys enjoy!_

* * *

The journey to Cinnabar Island lasted for the entire rest of the day and into the night, one of the many reasons for this being that they were forced to navigate around the tricky Seafoam Islands.

However, when they all awoke the next morning, the ship had already docked at the port in the resort city. Ash, Brock, May, and Max all made their way off the ferry quickly and into the town.

"Man...we haven't been here in a while." Ash commented, silently recalling how Blaine, the island's Gym Leader, had forced Ash to solve a series of riddles, disguising himself as a local innkeeper, before finally allowing Ash to have a battle with him.

"That's for sure." Brock added, looking around and noticing how little the town had changed.

"Piika..." Pikachu chimed in nostalgically.

As they roamed the streets of the small town, looking for the Pokemon Center, they suddenly heard familiar voices calling out to them.

"Hey - HEY! Ash!" Lily cried after them, causing all four to turn to the source of the noise. They were met with the sight of Trey and Lily running toward them from down the street.

"Oh, hey, you guys!" Ash greeted cheerfully as the couple approached him.

"Good to see you too." Trey replied hastily. "Listen, we really need your help."

"What's wrong?" Max questioned. "Are you guys in trouble or something?"

"Not us." Trey said, turning and shifting his gaze to the horizon behind him. "It's the Battle Pyramid."

"Huh? But I thought that the Battle Pyramid left for Sinnoh yesterday!" Max argued.

Lily nodded to him. "Well, yeah, it was supposed to. But before it could take off, something happened to it, and then - well - "

She stopped, looking to Trey worriedly. He glanced back at her for a moment before turning back to Ash. "Nate's in the Pyramid. He's hijacked it and taken the Pyramid King hostage. And...there's one more thing..."

Ash and crew simply stared in astonishment, unable to respond, waiting on edge for Trey to finish.

Trey looked down at May's left arm solemnly, the fang marks from Seviper's bite still readily visible. "...My older brother's in there with him."

"This place still sealed up?" Will asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Yes!" Nate answered angrily, turning to glare at him. "Now will you shut up about that already! We've got bigger problems right now!"

"I know, that's why I'm making sure that nothing else can get screwed up." Will retorted.

Nate and Will had both been reduced to pacing the stands of the Pyramid's arena, frantically trying to figure out how to proceed with their plan. Brandon, after being drugged by the two men, had been tied up and suspended from the chamber wall at the edge of the bleachers. After tying him up with steel cable, they had then wrapped the extra cable around a large rod and driven it into the wall, leaving Brandon completely helpless, unable to even touch the floor.

"This isn't...grah!" Nate growled angrily, turning to Brandon, who was quite a ways up the stands from him. "Hey! Brendan or whatever your name was! You ready to tell your crew to lift off now?"

Brandon ignored them, as had been their luck before. Nate howled in anger and turned away, continuing to pace the stands.

"Look, I still want to go through with the plan and everything, but if we can't lift off pretty soon, someone's gonna find a way in here. Even with the exits sealed." Will pointed out.

"I KNOW THAT!" Nate bellowed. He, like Will on the boat, had discarded his previous garments as well, and was now wearing a sleeveless white shirt underneath an also-sleeveless brown vest with a high collar, which complimented his light brown hair well. These were accompanied by long dark jeans.

"Well, I guess there's still the ransom money. We were gonna stay here until tomorrow anyway to see if someone actually brings it...remember?"

Nate didn't answer right away, instead spending a few moments pacing the bleachers in silence. Then, he turned back to Will, breathing normally again. "Yeah...yeah, you're right. We should just wait it out for now."

"So Nate and your older brother took control of the Battle Pyramid?" May repeated incredulously. "That's crazy!"

"Yeah, we know." Trey assured her. All six of them were now rushing across the island to where the Battle Pyramid was still docked. "Why do you think we're going back?"

"But why isn't anyone else doing anything about it?" Brock asked. "From what you guys told us, everyone on the island should know about it by now. Shouldn't the police or Blaine or someone be out here, too?"

"Well...that's another thing." Lily began slowly.

"They say they're holding Brandon for ransom. Ten million Pokedollars, or they say they'll take off tomorrow and just leave." Trey explained. "The police can't get involved unless they have the money. My guess is they're still talking it over in their big padded rooms."

The group swung around the corner of a building and was met with the imposing silhouette of the black-colored Battle Pyramid looming over them.

"Whoa..." Ash commented, staring up at the giant structure.

"Anyway, we already talked to Blaine. He said something about 'not wanting to get involved'." Trey finished, a touch of disdain is his voice now.

"I hate to say it, but that does kind of sound like Blaine." Ash admitted.

The group approached the small ferry service that had been providing access to the Battle Pyramid for challengers. The one woman that was working it eyed them as they walked up to her. "A-are you here to pay those two...?"

Ash shook his head. "No way!"

"We're here to free Brandon, and everyone else in the Pyramid." Trey told her confidently.

Fortunately, Brock didn't seem phased by the girl. She nodded gratefully to them as they all piled in to the small sailboat that was their transport across the water.

Not five minutes later, they had arrived. All six of them unloaded onto the gargantuan metallic facility. They headed for the main entrance, but were met with a large steel door in their pathway instead.

"Yeah, I figured it'd be sealed off." Trey said. "Hmm..."

"Heh. Don't worry." Brock said, stepping forward and pulling a Pokeball emblazoned with a lightning bolt on the front, as well as two yellow patches on the sides. "I can take care of this."

"Huh?" Trey mumbled, turning to face him as he tossed the Fast Ball.

"You guys might want to step back a little." Brock suggested as his Forretress emerged from its Ball.

"Forr!" Forretress grunted as everyone in the group moved back a few paces.

"Forretress, Explosion!" Brock commanded.

"Foooretress!" Forretress groaned, glowing a bright white for a split-second before blowing itself up on the spot, causing everyone behind it to throw up their arms to shield themselves from the blast.

A moment later, when the smoke cleared, Forretress was lying on its side on the ground, unconscious, and there was a smoldering crater in the wall where the door used to be.

"Good job, buddy." Brock praised soothingly as he called back his Pokemon. "Take a rest for a while."

"Wow. Nice job." Trey said, clearly impressed.

"Come on! Let's go!" Lily urged, waving them all forward.

"Man, this is tough, waiting like this." Will commented, who had taken to sitting on one of the bleachers lazily.

"Yeah, well, what are you going to - "

Nate was cut off in mid-sentence as Ash and the group charged into the empty arena.

Will jumped up off his seat instantly. "What the - ?"

"You kids again? Where did - how did you get in here?" Nate roared angrily.

They all turned and saw Nate and Will up in the stands, and Brandon hanging off the wall behind them.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cried angrily, sparks flaring from its cheeks as it jumped down on the floor in front of Ash.

"There you guys are!" Trey roared ruefully, glaring up at his brother.

"Trey! What are you doing?" Will fired back.

"We're taking this place back, you got that?" Ash told them defiantly.

"I don't think so!" Nate replied, walking down to the arena. "This is gonna be different than the Battle Palace. Understand me?"

Will followed closely behind him, glaring angrily at his younger brother. May, however, after looking closely at his face, recognized him as the man that had attacked her on Chrysanthemum Island.

"Hey...wait a minute!" She piped up, pointing a gloved finger across the room at Will. "I know you!"

"Huh?" Max replied at once, staring at her in disbelief. Everyone else glanced at her in confusion as well. "You do?"

"Yeah. He's...that's the guy that had the Seviper! He was at the Contest Hall before!"

They all recoiled in shock, especially Ash. "Wh-what?" He turned to Trey angrily. "Your _brother's_ the one that attacked May?"

Trey looked away from him sadly. "I...yeah. I never got the chance to tell you..."

May looked at him for a moment, but then decided that it wouldn't get her anywhere to hold it against him.

"Yeah, that was me." Will admitted, both himself and Nate moving to the battle square opposite Ash and the group. "But I wouldn't have had to attack you if you'd just listened to me!"

"Yeah, like I was just supposed to give up to throw the match for you!" May shot back.

Trey and Brock were glancing between everyone in the room now. When their eyes finally met each others, they nodded silently and turned to their companions.

"Hey, guys, listen." Trey began, motioning to Ash, May, and Max. "You have to get Brandon and get to the control room. You can control the entire place from there - including opening the doors, and signaling for more help to come."

Ash and May nodded together, but Max decided to speak up. "But what about you guys?"

Trey gestured to Lily and Brock behind him. "We can stay here and hold off these two. You two up for that?"

"I'm always ready, you know that." Lily answered playfully.

"Yeah. That's pretty much what I was thinking, too." Brock said, nodding.

Trey nodded as well. "All right, then. Hurry, get Brandon down and get going!"

Ash and May obliged at once, turning and heading up the stands toward Brandon, with Max and Pikachu not far behind.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Nate began in a huff, but was stopped short by Brock's Marshtomp appearing in a flash of light, right in his path.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" Brock mocked, grinning ruefully at Nate from across the room.

Nate gritted his teeth and returned to the trainer square beside Will. "Fine. You want to play like that?"

Trey and Lily stepped up to the battle square, leaving Brock behind them for support and Marshtomp guarding the corridor that Ash, May, and Max had just ran into, along with Brandon.

"I'd ask if you were ready...but I don't think I'd get anywhere." Trey muttered playfully to Lily.

"You're right." Lily answered, giggling. "You wouldn't."

"All right, little brother! I hope you're ready to lose!" Will roared, tossing a Pokeball forward. "Ninjask, go!"

"Ninjaaask!" Ninjask buzzed, emerging from its Ball in mid-flight.

"Go, Regice!" Nate cried, throwing a Pokeball of his own.

"Reg-iiiice." Regice echoed, its robotic voice similar to Regirock's.

Trey and Lily both recoiled at the sight of Regice, even though they both knew it was merely one of Nate's Ditto masquerading as Brandon's Pokemon.

"All right, then..." Trey muttered, grabbing a Pokeball off of his pants. "Let's go, Houndoom!"

"Doooom!" Houndoom bellowed, emerging in a flash of light across from Ninjask.

"Looks like I'm the lucky one!" Lily commented to herself, talking about the fact that she knew everyone else's Pokemon choices before choosing her own. "All right - Quilava, give me a hand!"

"Quii-lava!" Quilava chimed fiercely, igniting the flames on its body as it spoke, staring down Regice from across the field.

All four trainers and their Pokemon stared each other down for a moment, letting the silence hang in the air. Then, the battle began. "Ninjask, use Agility now!"

Ash and May quickly ran up the steps to who they assumed was the Pyramid King. He was dangling by a cable from a metal peg in the wall, and that same cable had tied him up.

"Oh no...how are we supposed to break this?" May began, fingering the steel rope in her hands.

"Hey, Ash, try using Pikachu's Iron Tail on it!" Max suggested, joining them at the top of the steps with Pikachu beside him.

"Good idea!" Ash said. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail on the cable!"

"Pika!" Pikachu obliged, leaping up at the restraints and charging up its tail, which began to glow a fierce white. "Pii-ka!" It sliced its tail at the cable a moment later, cutting a clean incision through it and dropping Brandon to the floor.

"Thanks for getting me out!" Brandon thanked quickly, shoving the now-useless steel cable off of his body as he got to his feet. "Now come on! We've got to get to the control room!"

"Right!" Ash agreed, nodding, as Pikachu climbed back up on his shoulder.

With that, the four of them ran back out of the bleachers and into the corridor leading out of the battle chamber, just as Brock's Marshtomp moved to block the doorway behind them.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	21. Chapter 21: Day of Black Pyramid II

"Ninjask, use Agility, now!"

Ninjask began zooming around the stadium at once, after-images appearing in its wake as it went. It streaked through the gap between Houndoom and Quilava, causing both Pokemon to shoot their gazes to the side in an attempt to keep visual contact.

Nate snickered at this. _"Looks like they took the bait."_

Ninjask continued to the rear of the arena, behind even Trey and Lily, swerving sharply upward right before it collided with the wall. Houndoom and Quilava were still watching it in shock, their backs turned to Regice.

Trey noticed this before too long, and called out frantically to his Pokemon. "Wait, Houndoom, look out!"

"Regice, use Ice Beam now!" Nate ordered, pointing across the field to Houndoom.

"Reeeg-iiiiice." Regice remarked, raising both of its stubby arms and pointing them toward Houndoom. Once in position, two bright blue beams of energy shot forth from them, streaking across the field and hitting Houndoom head-on before it even noticed the attack.

"Houndoom!" Trey cried out, watching as it was slowly frozen solid in a block of ice.

"Uh oh." Lily muttered to herself, gesturing at her Quilava frantically. "Quick, Quilava, use Lava Plume on Regice!"

"Quil!" Quilava chimed, charging over to Regice's immediate area. "Quii-lava!" It took a moment to ready itself, causing the flames on its head and tail to shoot up, and then seemingly combusted in a flash of fire and smoke.

"Grr - Regice!" Nate cried worriedly.

A moment later, Regice stumbled out of the smoke, damaged by the attack, but not severely. "Reg-iiiice." Regice growled, its voice considerably deeper than before. Quilava quickly jumped away as well as the smoke began to clear.

"Now use Flame Wheel!"

"Quiilava!" Quilava cried, leaping forward and curling into a ball in mid-air as flames erupted all around it, encasing it in a sphere of flame as it rolled toward Regice.

"Dodge it, Regice!" Nate commanded.

Regice clumsily jumped to the side as Quilava rolled past, but Quilava quickly changed its course and turned around, heading for Regice again.

"Argh - use Ice Beam!"

"Reeegice." Regice growled, shooting out another pair of light blue streaks at Quilava, but the Flame Wheel attacked simply spun right into the middle of them, deflecting the attack easily. Quilava rolled up and slammed into Regice hard, knocking it back.

"Ninjask, help him out!" Will called. "Use Slash on Quilava, now!"

"Just what I was waiting for." Lily mumbled to herself, smiling. "Quilava, go and hide behind Houndoom!"

Quilava obliged, quickly running over behind the frozen Houndoom as Ninjask closed in, baring its claws.

"N-no, wait! Stop!" Will ordered, but too late. Ninjask had already sliced at Quilava, hitting the frozen Houndoom block instead. The chunks of ice crashed into the floor as the Dark Pokemon freed itself from the remaining ice easily.

"All right." Trey praised, nodding to his girlfriend beside him in thanks. "Now, Houndoom! Hit Ninjask with Flamethrower!"

"Hoooooun!" Houndoom bellowed, spinning to face Ninjask, who wasn't too far away yet, behind it. A stream of flame erupted from Houndoom's mouth, missing the speedy Ninja Pokemon by less than a hair as it looped back to the other side of the field.

"Houndoom, quick, begin charging!" Trey called, causing Houndoom to back down slightly. It bowed its head as particles of light began gathering in the space between its horns.

"Regice, do it now! Hit them both with Blizzard!" Nate ordered, hoping to catch the two off guard.

"Reeg-iiiice." Regice roared, performing a similar gesture to that of Ice Beam, but summoning a howling mixture of ice and wind to blast them instead.

"Not this time!" Lily shot back. "Quilava, use Protect, now!"

"Quii-lava!" Quilava chirped, leaping in front of Houndoom and deflecting the Blizzard attack with an invisible sphere of energy around it.

"Now, Houndoom! Hit Ninjask with your Solarbeam!" Trey boomed.

"Hoooun-doooom!" Houndoom bellowed, leaping over Quilava as the Protect sphere faded. A massive blast of light shot forth from between its horns, catching Ninjask off guard as it slammed into the Ninja Pokemon. It went flying back across the stadium and collided with the far wall.

"Ninjask! No!" Will cried helplessly. Ninjask slowly got up from the ground and began hovering again, muttering softly to itself.

Nate, who had been glaring at Will for his failure just now, suddenly glanced to his Regice, noticing that Trey and Lily's guard had been dropped by their success just now. "Regice, attack! Use Blizzard now!"

Regice took aim quickly and fired off another Blizzard attack at both Quilava and Houndoom, who were seemingly taken by surprise.

"Dodge it, Quilava, quick!" Lily cried hastily, knowing that Protect more than likely wouldn't work twice in a row.

Trey, however, had other plans in mind. "I don't think so! Houndoom, Faint Attack, go!"

"Houn-doom!" Houndoom growled in agreement, staring down the Blizzard attack rushing toward him. Just before it hit, he vanished on the spot, right as Quilava leaped out of the way.

"Grrr..." Nate growled, glancing around the stadium for it.

Suddenly, it reappeared, directly behind the now-defenseless Regice. "Hooun!" It struck out with its horns, goring Regice in the back and sending it toppling to the ground.

"Ninjask, go! Use Slash on Houndoom!" Will ordered desperately.

"Ninjaaaask!" Ninjask screeched, charging toward Houndoom with claws bared.

"Jump backward and dodge it!" Trey called quickly.

Houndoom did as it was told, jumping backward as Ninjask soared past it before swiftly looping around again near Regice, staring down its opponent. However, what Nate and Will failed to notice was that Quilava and Houndoom were now on opposite sides of the arena, with Regice and Ninjask wedged in-between them.

Trey and Lily glanced at each other briefly before smiling and nodding as they turned back to their Pokemon.

"Houndoom!" Trey called.

"Quilava!" Lily echoed.

"Finish this with Double Overheat!" They cried in unison.

"Huh - !" Nate grunted, quickly glancing behind him and noticing Houndoom and Quilava's positioning, albeit far too late.

"What - !" Will grunted in a similar tone, looking at the two opposing Pokemon as well as they quickly charged up their attacks.

"Hooooun-dooooooom!" Houndoom bellowed, blasting a ridiculous amount of fire from its mouth at Ninjask and Regice.

"Quiii-lavaaaa!" Quilava roared, the flames on its body erupting as it fired a similarly-sized stream of fire at the two enemy Pokemon.

"No!" Nate remarked angrily, watching as Regice and Ninjask were engulfed in the all-consuming wave of fire from Quilava and Houndoom.

When the flames cleared, both Pokemon lay on the ground in a heap, both of them unconscious and heavily injured.

"And that, Will, is game." Trey said, shrugging his shoulders as Houndoom walked back across the field to its trainer.

"You do know where you're going, right?" Max inquired as himself, Ash, May, and Brandon raced down the long corridor supposedly leading to the control room.

"Of course I do! It's my facility, after all!" Brandon assured him roughly.

"Pika pi..." Pikachu muttered softly.

They were all running down the tight metal corridor with Brandon leading in front. Ash was directly behind him, with Pikachu perched on his shoulder as usual, with May and Max behind him, in that order.

"It shouldn't be much farther!" Brandon told them confidently. "I hope your friends can hold those two lunatics off until then!"

"Trey and Lily? I wouldn't worry too much about them." Ash told him, chuckling.

"Well, they did put up quite the fight against me, but still - one of those men made copies of my Regis with his Ditto!"

"Yeah, we've run into that guy once before, at the Battle Palace." May explained.

"You what?" Brandon exclaimed in confusion, turning to face her as he continued running.

He was swiftly cut off, however, by the lights in the hallway shutting off and large metal dividers springing up from the floor simultaneously, leaving Brandon in a space by himself at the front, Ash and May together in a space, and Max in his own space in the back.

"What the - ? What's going on here?" Brandon roared incredulously. "Who put us in lock-down?"

"May? What's happening?" Max whimpered from behind them.

They could all still hear other, but only barely, and the voices were muffled at that. "Brandon, what's going on?" Ash asked.

"Apparently, someone at the control room put the whole Pyramid in lock-down!" Brandon explained angrily. "Every hallway in the building is shut up just like this one, and only the arena lights still have power!"

"What?" May replied in disbelief. "But why would someone do that?"

"Someone in the control room must be a traitor!" Brandon deduced, anger still in his voice.

Suddenly, the lights flickered back to life, and the hallway dividers slid back into the floor.

"Huh...?" Max mumbled, quickly making his way to May's side.

Brandon glanced around for a second before speaking again. "I don't know why this's happening, but I'm gonna go find out!"

Ash nodded to him, but May turned back to face Max. "Hey, Max, maybe it wasn't the best idea for you to come with us..."

"Yeah..." Max agreed slowly.

"Maybe you should go back to the arena..." She offered, not wanting her brother to get involved in whatever was going on in the control room.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." Max agreed, taking a moment with May for them to say goodbye to each other before waving to Ash and Brandon and heading back towards the light, where they knew Brock's Marshtomp was standing guard.

Brandon looked to Ash and May after he was gone. "All right, are you two ready for this?"

They both nodded in unison, but before they could take off again, the hallway was swept back into lock-down, the lights shutting off and the dividers springing back up from the floor.

Brandon turned and narrowed his gaze at the opposite end of the hallway before sprinting forward, narrowly dodging each and every divider, making it through the entire hallway before he was trapped again.

"Oh, no..." May mumbled softly, glancing around at the enclosed space they were now trapped in. "I hope Max made it out okay..."

"Yeah..." Ash mumbled in response, presently trying to figure a way out instead of actually paying attention to what May was saying.

"Pika-chu..." Pikachu murmured helplessly, staring at the large metal divider before them, along with Ash.

However, their mutual thought process was soon broken by the soft sound of May...crying.

Ash turned to her in surprise, instantly forgetting about escaping for the moment. "May?"

"I...I just..." She muttered softly, wiping a tear from her cheek with her hand. "I don't want Max to get hurt...he's just a...a little kid, and these guys here...they're..."

"May..." Ash said softly, as Pikachu jumped down off of his shoulder and decided to busy itself with attempting to break out of the small room.

"If I had known...that..._those_ guys would be here..." May continued, still crying softly.

"May, don't worry..." Ash told her in an attempt at reassurance. "I'm sure Max will be fine. Trey and Lily are back there, and even Brock!"

"I - I know that...but I just..." May breathed, collapsing to her knees all of a sudden.

Ash looked at her for a moment sadly, trying to figure out a way to reassure her that Max would be all right. After a moment, he bent down to her level. "May, listen...there's only one thing we can do for Max right now."

May looked up at him slowly, Ash noticing each and every tear that dotted her flawless face.

"We just have to believe in him."

"Believe...in him...?"

"Yeah." Ash said, nodding. "It's just like with your Pokemon. As long as you believe in them and what they can do, they'll always come through for you. Right?"

"Y-yeah..."

"So all you have to do is believe that Max will make it through okay, and he will! Just like your Pokemon do." Ash told her, smiling.

"A-Ash..." May breathed, locking eyes with him as they shared a mutual moment of understanding. Then, disregarding the fact that Pikachu was present, she leaned in closer to him.

Ash froze for a second, anticipating her action. But then the strange side of his mind that had caused him to do it the first time urged him forward, and he leaned forward as well, catching her mouth with his, and causing them to share their second kiss together.

Pikachu turned and saw this as it happened, chuckling to itself as it did. "Pii-ka..." It murmured, shaking its head.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	22. Chapter 22: Day of Black Pyramid III

_Aaand the final part of the saga. Props to anyone who gets the reference in the title, by the way. Enjoy!_

* * *

Max tore out of the darkened hallway, coming up near Marshtomp, panting heavily as the last divider slammed into place not five feet behind him.

"Marsh?" Marshtomp inquired, looking at Max in surprise.

"Max? What are you doing here?" Brock asked, running over to him, just as Houndoom and Quilava delivered their devastating double Overheat attack.

"Th-they told me to come back...but..." Max began, still breathing heavily. "I think Ash and May are still trapped in there!"

"What?" Brock exclaimed, shifting his gaze to the blocked hallway before him.

"No! NO!" Nate roared angrily, recalling his defeated Ditto-Regice. "This isn't going to happen again!"

Will merely grunted, calling back his Ninjask angrily.

"So, what now, you two?" Trey challenged. "You gonna try some more of your Pokemon? Or call it quits while you're still ahead?"

"Shut up!" Will snapped back.

"Very nice." Trey remarked dryly.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Nate roared, gesturing for Will to follow him.

"Where exactly were you planning on going?" Brock cut in. "The hallways have all been sealed off."

Nate and Will glanced around the stadium angrily, clenching their fists. "D-damn it!"

"Whoa, cool down." Trey said, bringing his hands up in defense. He then turned to Lily. "You want to do the honors?"

"Sure." Lily replied, giggling to herself as she tossed another of her Pokeballs. "Butterfree, give me a hand!"

"Freeee!" Butterfree chimed, emerging in a flash of light next to Quilava.

"Butterfree, hit 'em with Sleep Powder!"

"Freeeee!" Butterfree answered, proceeding to soar over the heads of Nate and Will, loosing a grainy blue powder onto them in the process.

"Hey - what the - !" Will grunted angrily, vainly attempting to escape the spray of powder before falling to the ground, along with Nate, both suddenly in a deep sleep.

"Haha! Nice work, Butterfree!" Lily praised as her Butterfly Pokemon floated back to her side. "Quilava, good battling out there! Return!"

"Yeah, you too, Houndoom. Nice job." Trey added, recalling his Pokemon as well.

"So...what are we supposed to do now?" Brock asked, approaching the two trainers now that their battle was over.

"We've got to go help Ash and May! And I think Brandon's in trouble, too!" Max urged.

"Huh? What happened?" Lily asked, looking at Max in confusion.

"They got trapped in the hallway with those big dividers!" Max explained quickly, pointing back to the large metal sheet now obstructing the hallway.

"What about Brandon?" Brock asked.

"He ran ahead, past the dividers! I don't know where he is now!"

"Well...okay. Someone should stay behind and keep an eye on these two." Trey began, gesturing to the limp forms of Nate and Will across the room.

Brock nodded. "Yeah, I agree. Uh...not to...well, you know, but I think it should be Lily. She's the only one who can put them back asleep if they happen to wake up."

Trey nodded slowly. "Yeah...you're right."

Lily merely shrugged when she saw the consensus, grinning as usual. "Well, okay. If I have to!"

"And...I think Max should stay behind as well. Who knows what's going on with Brandon right now?" Brock reasoned, looking to his younger companion. "You okay with that, Max?"

"Yeah. I guess." Max answered halfheartedly. "Just...bring my sister back okay, all right?"

"You can count on it." Brock assured him, grinning.

Trey looked to him, smirking. "So. Looks like that leaves us."

"Yeah."

He held Brock's gaze for a moment, then turned to Lily. The two shared a quick embrace and exchanged a few words of comfort, then Trey walked over to Brock, facing the blocked hallway.

"You ready?"

"All right - what's going on here!" Brandon boomed, storming into the control room.

The room was empty on the side nearest the door, but the other side housed three large computer consoles, two facing each other on oppositer walls, and one directly across from Brandon. Each had about half a dozen or so men stationed at it, but something was wrong. Only one of the workers turned to face Brandon. The others merely lay in their chairs, their bodies slumped over onto the controls.

"Well, hello there, Pyramid King."

Brandon was surprised at what he saw, to say the least. "What's going on here? Who initiated the lockdown procedure?"

"Oh, yes, that. That would be me." The man's voice was rather flat and emotionless, and he was dressed in the same simple garb as everyone else manning the consoles.

"You - what? Why would you - ?"

"Well, you see, I was thinking about those men's plan while we were sitting in here, waiting patiently for your command, when I realized...you know, you really don't pay well enough."

Brandon was aghast at the man's words. "What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, in one way or another, those two were doing all this for money. I figure that there may be some credence to their idea - though, their execution was terribly flawed." The man spoke, not moving from his spot. "Unfortunately...not everyone here thought as I did. One even managed to disengage the lockdown I initiated for a short while."

"You never answered me! Why would you - ?"

"Oh, the lockdown?" The man finished for him, chuckling. "Simple. It was merely to keep you away. But I can see how well that worked out. Oh well."

"So what are you doing exactly?" Brandon demanded.

"Well, the way I see it, the easiest way to make a good portion of money would be the sale of certain legendary Pokemon." The man explained, holding a hand out with three miniaturized Pokeballs in it.

Brandon realized what three Pokemon were inside them almost instantly. "No! You give me those back! NOW!"

Brandon's brief advance was quickly stopped, however, when the man produced a pistol in his free hand and trained it on Brandon's forehead.

"Now, now. Don't make me do this." The man said, putting the three Pokeballs back into his pocket. "But, then again, it may not make a difference, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you'll find out soon."

"All right, Crawdaunt, use Guillotine again!" Trey called out, causing Ash and May to leap back in surprise, as well as Pikachu. Before their eyes, the metal barrier blocked their passage back to the arena was sliced in half, and on the other side of the rubble stood Brock and Trey, with Marshtomp and Crawdaunt beside them, respectively.

Brock blinked, looking at the two strangely. He could've sworn that he saw Ash and May embracing on the floor before they jumped away. "Uh...hey, guys."

"Brock!" Ash exclaimed gratefully. "Trey!"

"Pika!" Pikachu added happily.

"What's going on out there?" May asked, eyeing Trey's Crawdaunt strangely after seeing it slice the divider clean in half.

"We took care of Nate and Will. Your brother's back there with Lily, but he said that you guys needed help." Trey explained.

Ash and May glanced at each other, grinning. "All right!" May remarked happily.

"Way to go, Max!" Ash added.

"I still think it's amazing that your Crawdaunt can use Guillotine so effectively." Brock remarked, glancing admiringly at Trey's Pokemon.

"Heh, thanks. We've been partners for a while now, so I guess he's gotten pretty powerful in that time."

"Craw." Crawdaunt mumbled humbly.

"Well, come on, you guys." Trey said, gesturing to Ash and May, the latter of which now had Pikachu perched on his shoulder again. "We're going to help out Brandon, whatever he's doing back there."

Ash nodded, then glanced to May. Both of them nodded at once, and each tossed one Pokeball. "Let's go, Grovyle!"

"Combusken, go!"

"Grooo!"

"Com-busken!"

Ash glanced back at Brock and Trey confidently. "Thanks, guys. Let us take it from here. Grovyle, use Leaf Blade!"

"Grooo-vyle!" Grovyle cried, charging forward at the steel barrier and slicing it cleanly in two, similar to Crawdaunt.

"Wow. Guess it's my turn to be impressed." Trey commented, eyeing Grovyle enviously.

"Heh, thanks." Ash replied humbly, the group stepping forward over the remains of the divider.

"Combusken, use Mega Kick, go!"

"Coooom-busken!" Combusken boomed, jumping forward at the next metal sheet and slamming into it with a glowing foot, knocking it over on its back.

"All right! Combusken's doing great!" Ash praised, cheering on May's Pokemon heartily.

"Not as good as Grovyle!" May shot back jokingly, the two trainers grinned at each other.

Brock noticed this as well, and continued to watch the two closely as their Pokemon continued to advance down the hallway.

Before they knew it, the four had arrived at the door to the control room. They took a moment to catch their breath, and then opened the door and stepped inside, along with their Pokemon.

"Oh, who do we have here?" The defected worker said, glancing over Brandon's shoulder at the four.

"Huh? You made it through the hallway?" Brandon questioned incredulously.

"Yeah, and good thing, too!" Ash exclaimed, glaring at the worker defiantly, noticing the pistol pointed at Brandon. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, it would have been so much easier if you had just stayed away..." The worker groaned pleasantly. "Oh well."

"What are you talking about?" Brandon demanded again, growing impatient, but not stupid enough to move with a gun trained on him.

May glanced at the man, noticing his outstretched hand with the gun in it. She slowly glanced to Combusken, then to the man again. Combusken nodded in understanding before glaring defiantly back at the man.

"Go, Combusken! Now!" May cried suddenly.

"Hm?" The man grunted.

"COOOM-BUUUUSKEN!" Combusken roared, streaking across the room and attempting a Sky Uppercut on the man, intending to knock the gun from his hands.

But the man noticed all too soon, and instead turned and fired at Combusken.

"Combusken!" May cried.

Combusken narrowly dodged the shot, but was forced to fall back to May. However, the worker seemed not to care about this, and instead pointed the gun at May next.

"What - !" Ash choked out.

"Agh - !" Brock grunted, both of them glanced to May as if in slow motion.

The man fired, a smirk on his face. But Combusken had already leaped in front of her, but Ash had leaped in front of it. The bullet connected, driving through Ash's clothes like paper and wedging itself firmly in the muscle tissue of his right shoulder.

"ASH!" May cried out at once as Ash fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder. Combusken looked devastated as well, staring at Ash with a strange look in its eyes.

Brock, Trey, and Brandon merely glared at the man, grunting angrily under their breath as he retreated back to the console behind him. "It seems we've come to a disagreement. I suppose it's time to leave, then."

With that, he mashed a button on the console, smirked at the group, and swiftly dived out of a previously unseen door in the wall behind the control panel.

Brandon ran over to the control panel at once as Brock and Trey recalled their Pokemon and went to Ash's side.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cried affectionately.

"Grooo...vyle..." Grovyle chirped sadly, both Pokemon staring at their wounded trainer.

"Ash, are you okay?" Brock asked hurriedly.

"I..." Ash choked, still clutching his bleeding shoulder. "I don't know..."

"Agh!" Brandon bellowed in anger from across the room. "He's engaged the self-destruct system!"

Trey glanced at him in shock. "He what?"

"Come on!" Brandon boomed, running across the room at full speed, gesturing to them as he did so. "We've got to get out of here, NOW!"

_"Self-destruct counter initiated. Battle Pyramid will self-destruct in sixty seconds." _

Max and Lily shot their gazes skyward in horror as the computer announced this over the speakers.

"What'd it say?" Max asked worriedly.

"That's not good..." Lily said darkly. "Butterfree, return!"

Just then, the group came charging out of the side hallway, all of their Pokemon recalled sans Pikachu, who was running on the ground due to the fact that Ash was presently slumped over Brock's shoulders.

"Come on!" Brandon bellowed. "We've got to move!"

Max and Lily's eyes widened when they saw Ash's wound. "What happened - ?"

May ran over to him. "Come on, Max, there's no time!"

Trey slowly turned to Will and Nate's limp bodies across the room as everyone began to head for the exit corridor. They were still asleep, and if left here, would surely die.

"Hey! What's the matter! You want to go down with this place?" Brandon demanded angrily.

"Hold on!" Trey called, rushing over to Will.

"What the - !" Brandon roared, but Lily ran over as well.

He glanced at her for a moment and smiled. Together, they managed to boost Will up over their shoulders. They looked to Nate for a moment, but then decided against it and ran back to the others.

"Are you finished? Come on!" Brandon insisted.

_"Battle Pyramid will self-destruct in thirty seconds."_

The group hurried down the exit corridor, pieces of the structure already beginning to collapse down around them. Brandon was leading, with Brock behind him, holding Ash up over his shoulders. May and May followed behind him, respectively, and Trey and Lily brought up the rear, struggling to carry Will between the two of them.

_"Battle Pyramid will self-destruct in fifteen seconds."_

Just then, a light came into view at the end of the hallway.

"There!" Brandon declared.

"The exit!" Max cried hopefully.

"Pika!" Pikachu added.

As they drew closer to the door, the voice over the speaker became riddled with static as it broadcast again, the tone and pitch changing wildly as well.

_"Battle PyraMID will SELF-destrUCT in ten SEConds."_

They drew up to the giant exit door. After stepping outside, they began to dive into the water one by one, swimming away from the facility as fast as they could.

_"Five...four...THREE...tWO...ONE..."_

With that last word, the facility blew itself apart from the inside-out in a spectacular flurry of fire, smoke, and metal. The sound was deafening, causing almost everyone in the water to recoil from hearing it, and the sheer force of the blast carried them almost all the way back to Cinnabar Island through the water.

Once they had all managed to get up onto the ground at the edge of the island, as well as the city, they took to treating Ash immediately. Brock unloaded him from his shoulders and laid him flat on the ground, and began to examine the wound.

As he did so, Trey and Lily unloaded Will from their arms as well, lowering him onto the ground.

"So...?" Lily asked softly, looking to Trey.

He looked back at her defiantly. "Just leave him there. We helped him way too much already by just getting him out of there."

Brandon was merely standing on the edge of the island, staring out at the burning remains of his once-great facility, his face hidden from the others.

May, Max, and Pikachu were all looking over Brock shoulders sadly as he examined Ash's condition.

Ash looked up at May, barely conscious at this point, his eyes hazy and glossed over. "Are...you okay...?"

Tears welled up in May's eyes, but she refused to let them out this time. She smiled back at him sadly. "Yes. I'm fine..."

Ash mustered up a smile. "That's...good..."

And with that, his head fell back against the stone ground underneath him. Unconscious.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	23. Chapter 23: Pallet Bound

_It's just that time again! Yup, another batch of updates from the guy who really should have thought this process through better!_

_Yeah, anyway, you guys are not that far behind anymore. I put Chapter 32 up on the other site a couple of days ago, and I think I'm adding up to 27 today...so yay, I guess._

* * *

The group spent the remainder of the evening in the hospital while Ash was treated, sans Brandon. The Pyramid King had sincerely thanked everyone for their help and departed for Tohjo Falls soon after, saying something about getting in touch with the other Frontier Brains.

Ash, meanwhile, was taken in for treatment. The entire process took only a couple of hours. They removed the bullet from his shoulder and stitched up the wound, but the doctors had said that that was all they could do, and that it wasn't a particularly grievous wound in the first place. Well, no more so than any other generic bullet wound.

By the time they had exited the hospital, Pikachu taking care not to stand on Ash's sore shoulder, it was already dark outside.

"Man..." Lily said distantly as they walked down the street, toward the northern port. "Some day, huh?"

"I'll say." Max agreed. He sounded exhausted.

"So what's the plan for you guys?" Trey asked, directing his attention toward Brock. "Where're you headed next?"

"I think we were all going to Pallet Town next." Brock answered, glancing to Ash for confirmation.

"Yeah." Ash nodded. "I used to live there before I was a Pokemon Trainer, and my mom still lives there. I figured we could just stay there for a while until we figure out what to do next."

"What about you two?" Brock asked, glancing at Trey and Lily.

The two glanced at each other. "Well, since finishing the Battle Frontier is kind of impossible right now, we were thinking of heading to Hoenn next." Trey explained.

"Hoenn...?" May echoed softly, her thoughts drifting back to her own home in Petalburg City.

"Yeah." Lily answered, nodding. "We've never been there before, so we figured it'd be a fun experience."

As they made their way up to the docks, they continued chatting until they made their way to the ticket booths. Trey purchased two one-way tickets to Hoenn, Brock bought one for Pallet Town, and, like usual, Ash bought the three for himself, May, and Max, also for Pallet Town.

Once they drew up to the line of ships, Trey and Lily stood off to one side, facing the rest of the group.

"Well...I don't think we're gonna bump into you guys again any time soon." Trey admitted, a touch of sadness in his voice.

"Yeah..." Ash agreed, nodding slowly.

"Thanks again for all your help." Trey continued after a brief moment of silence. "Back in Fuchsia City, and here with the Battle Pyramid, too."

"We were glad to do it." Brock replied honestly.

"Yeah." Ash added. "And you're the one who saved my Swellow from drowning, remember?"

"Right."

The two groups stood there for another few moments, staring at each other awkwardly.

"Well...um..." Lily began slowly. "...Bye."

"See you guys later." Trey added, raising a hand in farewell as the two began walking away.

Ash raised his left hand, waving back at them, along with Pikachu, May, Max, and Brock. Before too long, though, Lily turned around and faced Ash and May one last time.

"Oh...and good luck, you guys!" Lily said, smiling at the two for a second before turning and walking out of sight, along with Trey.

Brock and Max brushed off the comment as nothing, but Ash and May stared back in confusion. After a moment, however, the two turned to each other and merely grinned.

"Pika, pika." Pikachu said, chuckling.

Their boat departed soon after, and, given the fact that it was actually night, the group soon retreated to their cabin for a much-deserved rest.

Their room had two bunk beds, which was what they had come to expect over the months. Ash and Brock usually shared one, and May and Max the other. This rule remained true here, with Brock and Max taking the respective top bunks, leaving Ash and May the bottom.

It wasn't long before the lights were out and everyone had curled up in their respective bed for a good night's rest, Pikachu taking the floor at the foot of Ash and Brock's bunk. However, soon after the lights were out, and it became apparent that the others were asleep, May silently rose from her bed and made her way across the room.

"Ash?" She whispered from the side of his bed. He appeared to be asleep as well. "Ash..." She persisted, shaking him gently.

It took a few more tries, but eventually he awoke, albeit rather groggily. "M-May?" He muttered softly, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "What's wrong?"

"Pi?" Pikachu murmured quietly, ears perking up at the noise.

She put a finger over her mouth, indicating silence, and motioned to the door. Ash glanced back at her, confused, but swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up anyway a moment later.  
Without making a noise, the two made their way outside, taking care to close the door with as little noise as possible. Pikachu watched this and decided it would be better to simply go back to sleep.

"What's going on?" Ash inquired, still rubbing one eye.

"I just wanted to...talk to you." May answered softly. She glanced at his shoulder, the hole still apparent in his shirt. "How's your shoulder doing?"

He looked down at the wound as well, finally coming fully awake. "I guess it's okay. It's still a little sore, and it hurts if I try to use it too much, but it's fine besides that."

"That's good."

The two were silent for a few seconds as they awkwardly glanced at each other, trying to figure out what to say next.

"Um...so...what are we...?" May began nervously, breaking the silence.

Ash looked back at her, a strange look present on his face. "I...dunno...I mean...we kinda..."

May held his gaze as a touch of regret entered her tone. "If you don't...I mean...it's okay if you...don't..."

Ash watched her with concern as she looked away, tears entering his eyes. "May...?"

He continued watching her for a moment, and when she didn't turn back to face him, he stepped up next to her. "Listen...May...I..."

She looked back at him, tears brimming her eyes.

"I...I really hate it when you do...that." Ash told her softly, looking back at her sadly.

She held his gaze in pleasant shock, not quite believing what she had just heard.

"When you cry...it makes me want to cry, too." He continued.

May smiled back at him, knowing what a sentiment like that meant, coming from a guy like Ash. She threw her arms around him, taking care not to put too much pressure on his right arm.

Ash returned the gesture after a moment of shock, wrapping his arms tightly around the girl who had become so much more important to him over the last few days.

"Thanks for saving me...you know, back there." May said softly as they broke apart.

"Sure. I couldn't just sit there and watch you get hurt like that...especially not after that." Ash said, eyeing the still-visible fang marks on May's left arm.

May continued smiling back at him, and then she decided to mention something that had been on her mind recently. "You know we're gonna have to tell the others sooner or later..."

Ash paused, glancing over her shoulder at the door behind her, leading back to their room. "Yeah, you're right. Hmm..."

Suddenly, May yawned, and it hit both of them how tired they were from the day's events. "Well, we can worry about that later." May said, giggling.

Ash nodded, chuckling as well, and moved to open the door back to the darkness of their room. He let May inside first and then went inside himself, quietly shutting the door behind him. The two climbed back into bed silently and quickly fell asleep, the both of them unable to stop thinking about what had just transpired.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	24. Chapter 24: Home Again

_This chapter here seemed to be a favorite among my fans when I first uploaded it. I hope you guys enjoy it, too!_

* * *

The ship arrived at Pallet Town the next morning. Although Professor Oak's lab was closer to the dock than Ash's house, they decided to go and stop by there first and check in with Delia.

"Man, it sure feels good to be home." Ash remarked cheerfully as they walked through the small town. "Right, buddy?"

"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.

"I can't wait to see your Pokemon again, Ash!" Max said excitedly.

"Hey, Ash, you think our Bulbasaurs have been getting along okay?" May asked, thinking back to when she had left it behind.

"Yeah, I bet they're doing great!" Ash assured her.

As they approached the small one-story house that Ash called home, a Mr. Mime suddenly ran out to greet them on the front porch.

"Mime, mime!"

"Oh, hey, Mr. Mime!" Ash greeted happily. "Is Mom home?"

"Who's there?" Delia called out from inside the house. She emerged from the door behind Mr. Mime a second later. "Mimey, I - oh!"

"Hey, Mom!" Ash exclaimed happily, waving jubilantly at her.

"Oh, hi, honey!" Delia replied cheerfully. "I didn't know you were coming home so soon!"

"Yeah." Ash answered, nodding. "We kind of ran into some problems, but we'll tell you about that later. We were just gonna leave our stuff here and head over to Professor Oak's place for a while, if that's okay."

"Sure!" Delia told him. "He's been busy with Tracey all morning, but I'm sure he'd let you four in."

"All right! Thanks, Mom!"

After doing as they said and offloading their packs at Ash's house, the group headed back across town to the Pokemon lab. As Delia had said, Professor Oak and Tracey appeared busy with something on the computer, but they were let in anyway, after a quick exchange of greetings between the two groups.

They began walking out into the open field behind the lab, where the Pokemon were kept, but they didn't make it five steps before Ash was tackled to the ground by his Bayleef.

"Bay! Bay!" Bayleef cooed affectionately, rubbing its face against Ash's.

"H-hey, good to see you too, Bayleef!" Ash stammered, attempting to push Bayleef off and stand back up.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu said, raising a hand to Bayleef itself.

"That's so cool!" Max exclaimed once Ash had gotten back on his feet, petting Bayleef. "I never got to see many of your Pokemon the last time we were here..."

"Yeah, thanks to Team Rocket." Ash agreed, nodding as he remembered the day.

Walking further out into the field, along with Bayleef, they soon met up with many more of Ash's reserve Pokemon, including Totodile, Cyndaquil, Glalie, Torkoal, Heracross, Snorlax, and Kingler, although, unlike the rest of them, Snorlax chose not to continue walking around with Ash and company, instead opting to remain napping against a tree trunk, right where they'd found it.

"This is so awesome!" Max cried out again, thoroughly enjoying getting to meet with so many different Pokemon. "I always forget how many Pokemon you have back here at the lab!"

"Yeah, me too, sometimes." Ash admitted. "Hey...I wonder where my Tauros are - "

As if on cue, a deafening roar filled the air and the ground started shaking, the result of Ash's thirty Tauros came stampeding across the field toward him.

"Heads up, Ash!" Brock called out, gesturing to the herd. "Looks like you spoke too soon!"

Ash, who now had Totodile on his right shoulder, as well as Pikachu on his left, attempted to dive out of the way, but was momentarily distracted when he noticed two Bulbasaur each sitting atop one of the Tauros in the herd. Noctowl was flying above the whole group, eyeing Ash with the same bland expression it always had.

Ash cried out as he was struck by the head of the pack and carried off with them as they continued their never-ending stampede. He knew it was just their way of saying hi, but given the recent wound in his arm, it was much more painful for him than usual. "Aaaagh! Guys! My...my arm!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu chimed, concerned.

"Toto?" Totodile inquired, not understanding what exactly was wrong with Ash.

"Ash?" May cried out worriedly. Brock and Max appeared nervous as well, not sure if the Tauros were hurting him or not.

"Bulba?" Ash's Bulbasaur said, noticing Ash in apparent pain within the herd. Nodding to May's Bulbasaur, the two both extended their vines toward Ash, who quickly grabbed on gratefully. The two Bulbasaur then leaped off the backs of their respective Tauros, landing smoothly on the grass as Tauros continued charging through the field, never missing a beat.

"Ow...hey, thanks, you two." Ash said, rubbing his right arm tenderly as May, Max, and Brock came running up, along with the rest of Ash's Pokemon.

"Ash?" May repeated, eyeing his injured arm.

"Are you okay?" Brock asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to the Bulbasaur, anyway." Ash replied, grinning at the two Bulbasaur beside him.

"Oh, hi, Bulbasaur!" May greeted happily as her Pokemon walked over to her happily. "How have you been getting along with Ash's Bulbasaur?"

"Bulba, Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur chimed jovially.

May helped Ash up off the ground, and then they all decided to release all of their Pokemon and allow them to play in the field for a while.

"All right, guys! Come on out!" Ash cried first, releasing Swellow, Grovyle, Donphan, and Corphish.

"Come on, everyone! You too!" May echoed, releasing Combusken, Squirtle, Munchlax, and Eevee.

"You guys as well!" Brock finished, releasing Forretress, Bonsly, and Marshtomp.

All of the Pokemon seemed to be enjoying themselves. Corphish and Kingler made a game out of clashing pincers with each other, similar to the last time they had seen each other, while Noctowl and Swellow simply soared around the open air together. Snorlax continued sleeping against the same tree, along with Munchlax, while Heracross took to eating the sap within the trunk of that same tree.

Meanwhile, Donphan seemed to enjoy using Rollout in an attempt to keep up with the herd of Tauros, and it appeared to be doing well, for the most part. Glalie and Torkoal were coaching Cyndaquil in fire attacks, with Glalie freezing a patch of water into ice and then having Torkoal melt it, after which Cyndaquil would attempt to do the same. Marshtomp and Squirtle were swimming side by side in the same pond, albeit a good distance away from Glalie and company.

Combusken and Grovyle actually took to battling each other of their own accord during all of this, and they appeared to be quite evenly matched. Eevee, however, chose to remain with May, who cradled it comfortably in her arms. Bonsly remained with Brock as well, who opted to do the same. Totodile remained on Ash's shoulder as well, next to Pikachu, and the two Bulbasaurs, as well as Bayleef, chose to follow the group around on foot, the two Bulbasaurs walking side by side.

"Man, this is really great, huh?" Brock commented. "We don't get a chance to relax like this too often."

"Yeah." Ash agreed, nodding. "I know what you mean. I can't help feeling like something's missing, though..."

A few seconds later, Professor Oak and Tracey came walking out from the lab, into the field area. Behind them was Muk, the final Pokemon of Ash's reserve pool.

"Hello there, you four!" Professor Oak called out cheerfully. "I apologize for the delay earlier."

"Hey, Professor! You didn't tell me you had Muk in there with you!" Ash replied happily, waving to his Pokemon.

"Oh, yes, Muk has certainly taken a liking to me lately. It seems to follow me everywhere these days."

"Hey, you guys!" Tracey chimed in, raising a hand in greeting.

"Hey, Tracey!" Ash echoed back. "How's your Pokemon sketching going?"

"It's going really good, actually, except that trying to draw Muk is the most frustrating thing in the world." Tracey admitted, chuckling.

As the day wore on, the Pokemon continued their respective activities in the reserve area behind the lab. Professor Oak and Tracey explained that the 'project' they'd been doing on the computer earlier was actually researching the events surrounding the recent incidents at the Battle Palace and Battle Pyramid. Ash and company ended up explaining most of it to them, and they happily left them alone after that, content with what they had heard. Or at least content enough to look up more information for themselves.

That being said, at Max's request, Tracey went to stake out Ash's Swellow in the fields, allowing Max to watch as he drew his sketch of it. Brock, Bonsly still in his arms, went to spend some time with Marshtomp near the water. Forretress had taken to sleeping under a large tree all afternoon, as it had never fully recovered from using Explosion to get them into the Battle Pyramid.

Ash and May decided to just sit back and relax for a while. They retreated to the back side of the lab, overlooking the rest of the field, and sat down on the soft grass, Ash leaning back against the side of the building.

The two Bulbasaurs, upon seeing this, took to a similar position further out on the grass, sitting side by side on their hind legs, gazing up at the clouds together. Bayleef remained near Ash, but before long, Pikachu and Totodile grew restless and jumped down off of Ash's shoulders, beginning to chase each other around the area, which in turn drew Bayleef's attention, as well as Eevee's. Before long, the four Pokemon were engaged in a fierce game of four-way tag.

"Brock was right." May commented after an extended period of silence. Ash glanced over at her in confusion. "About the relaxing thing."

"Oh, yeah." Ash responded, nodding. "It's really cool to just stay here and hang out with all my Pokemon, you know?"

"Yeah." May agreed. This, she had discovered, was one of the many things that she liked about the boy sitting beside her: his fierce, undying love for his Pokemon. She had always admired that about him, even before she had started looking at him..._that_...way. With this on her mind, she decided to change the subject. "Ash?"

"Yeah?" He replied, lowering his voice when he saw her expression.

She was silent for a moment, watching almost cautiously as Pikachu and Totodile struggled to get away from Bayleef, who now had Eevee riding on its back, their group passing by Ash and May in the process.

"Pika-chuu!" Pikachu whined, watching behind it as Bayleef continued gaining distance.

"Toto, toto, toto, toto!" Totodile chimed carelessly, barely even paying attention as it danced away from Bayleef beside Pikachu.

May watched the small group as they drew away from them again. Turning back to Ash, she continued. "Can we talk about...?"

Ash blushed when he realized her intention, noticing that she was still wearing the green flower he'd given her in her hair. "Um...okay."

"Are we...I mean...are we...you know..." She stammered, hoping that Ash would catch on. His blank face told her that that wasn't going to happen, though, so she was forced to carry on herself. "Are we...'together'...now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just mean...we...you know..." She said, blushing herself as she continued. "We've...kissed...twice already. But nobody else even knows...well, except maybe Pikachu." She finished, giggling.

"Well...yeah, I think. I mean...I guess. I'm not really that good with this kind of stuff..." Ash answered, looking down as he finished.

May stared at him for a moment. "Well...do you...w-want to be?"

Ash brought his gaze back up, meeting hers with a strange look on his face. His blush had intensified. "I...yeah. I mean...I think so..."

"You think so?" May repeated, not so much in anger as disappointment. However, she quickly found a way to turn it back on him, and drew herself up from the grass. "I thought..."

"No, wait, that's not right!" Ash urged when he saw her getting up, coupled with her disappointed expression. "I mean...I just don't know!"

May smiled sweetly at him and approached him as he stood up as well. Facing each other, she held his gaze. "What exactly _are_ you feeling, Ash?"

He looked back at her helplessly. He didn't want her to get upset again, but he had no idea how to describe what he was feeling to her. Gritting his teeth, he decided on the spot to say the first thing that came to mind when he thought about her. "I-I feel like you're important to me! I care about you more than I ever thought I would, and I want to be with you, May!" He cried, much louder than he had intended, but that was the last thing on his mind. He was saying things that he himself hadn't even fully realized yet. "I want you to be happy, more than anything!"

May recoiled, staring at him in shock, not noticing that, behind her, a good portion of the field had heard what Ash had just said. She had never imagined that he would ever say something like that. Him, thick-headed Ash Ketchum, pouring his heart out to her. "A-Ash..."

Ash continued staring at the ground, tears falling down _his_ face this time. May drew herself closer to him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"I-I'm sorry..." He muttered, not looking at her. "I t-told you...I'm no good at stuff like this..."

"It's okay." May whispered back. He drew his head up, looking back at her as she smiled at him, their faces only inches apart. "I care about you, too, you know."

Ash's eyes widened in relief as she brought her mouth up to his and kissed him softly. After a moment, however, they noticed how quiet the area had grown, and quickly drew apart and glanced around.

Behind them, in the field, Pikachu and the Tag Brigade had all stopped running and were staring intently at the two of them, along with Corphish and Kingler. Grovyle and Combusken had stopped sparring and were doing the same, and they all appeared to be extremely shocked, sans Pikachu. Squirtle, Swellow, Noctowl, and both Bulbasaur were watching as well, but they all appeared to be somewhat pleased by the event.

However, the one that caught Ash and May's eyes was Brock. With Bonsly on the shore next to him, and Marshtomp a few feet away in the pond, he was watching them intently.

And he was grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	25. Chapter 25: Decisions

Their eyes remained locked, Ash and May's faces quickly heating up as they realized what had happened. Brock slowly rose from the ground, holding their gaze, as well as his wide grin.

"U-um..." Ash mumbled, attempting to justify himself to Brock.

"I've got to hand it to you, Ash." Brock remarked, ignoring Ash's admittedly weak plea. "I was starting to have doubts about you with the whole girls thing."

"What? That's all you're gonna say?" Max piped up indignantly, appearing from deeper in the fields alongside Tracey.

"Come on, Max, cut them some slack." Tracey urged, a grin apparent on his face as well.

"But Tracey - did you see what they _did_?"

May continued to stare for a moment, flustered, but then she regained a bit of her composure and simply smiled hopelessly at her friends. "O-oops. I guess I should've thought that through a little better...n-no sense hiding it now, though, right?"

Ash turned to her in protest, but decided it was better not to say anything. Brock nodded approvingly and turned back to his Pokemon, the grin never leaving his face.

Max, on the other hand, ran up to May in displeasure. "What - that's it? Do you know what you just did?"

May looked down at him with the same hopeless smile on her face. "Yeah...I think so. I kissed Ash, right?"

"But that's so messed up! C'mon, sis, it was just a joke or something, right?"

May turned back to Ash, prompting him to flash Max the same hopeless expression as May.

As the afternoon drew to a close, and evening began to set in, the group said their goodbyes to Tracey and Professor Oak, and made their way back to Ash's house, deciding to leave their Pokemon at the lab for the night, except for Pikachu. Unlike Brock, who, due to the hints he had managed to pick up on during the past couple of weeks, was able to accept Ash and May's relationship without much trouble, Max was firmly opposed to it, calling it 'gross and weird'.

This was shown on the way back from the lab. Given that they were no longer a secret, May and Ash awkwardly positioned themselves next to each other on the road and began holding hands after a moment. Max grunted audibly at this and made a point of walking around so that Brock was then between himself and May.

Once they arrived at Ash's house, they decided to tell Delia about the 'news' right away. She was pleasantly surprised, to say the least.

"So, dear, any plans on where you're going next?" Delia asked sweetly. The conversation had recently shifted from Ash and May to what had happened with the Battle Frontier, and why they had come to Pallet Town in the first place. "Or were you just going to stay here for a while?"

"Mm...I never really thought about it yet." Ash admitted. They were all sitting in the living room, with Ash and May sitting together on one couch, along with Pikachu on Ash's shoulder, as usual. Brock and Max had taken the other couch, leaving Delia to sit on the one armchair.

"Well...there's the Sinnoh region. You know, the one that Trey mentioned to us." Brock said, putting a hand to his chin.

"Oh yeah." Ash remarked, recalling the brief words that Trey had given them about the foreign region. "That might be cool. I wonder if they have their own Gyms?"

"Or Contests?" May added hopefully.

"Yeah, Sinnoh has both Gyms and Contests, actually." Max piped up, making a point not to look at either Ash or May.

"What?" May replied in disbelief. "How do you know that?"

"Because, unlike some people - " Max said pointedly. " - I actually read a book every now and then. Sinnoh has eight Gyms and a Sinnoh League, its own Grand Festival, and it's home to the Dragon Trio that rules over time and space, as well as the Lake Trio that protects the region."

Everyone in the room stared at Max in awe, even Brock.

"Wow, Max, where'd you learn all that?" Brock asked.

"Books." Max replied simply.

There was a momentary silence among the group.

"Well..." Ash began slowly. "I think it sounds pretty cool. What about you guys?"

"Hmm..." Brock muttered, watching Ash and May closely. "I don't know..."

"I think it sounds good, too!" May added.

"Really?" Ash asked in excitement, looking over at her. "It was fun doing the Battle Frontier and everything, but, it'll be nice to get back to fighting in a real Pokemon League."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." May answered before turning to her brother. "What about you, Max? Sound good?"

Max, who honestly had no intention of going to Sinnoh, decided that it would be better not to spoil his sister's good mood. "Uh...yeah, I guess."

"All right!" May exclaimed, quickly turning to Ash in excitement.

"What about it, buddy? You want to go to the Sinnoh region?" Ash said, echoing the question to his partner.

"Pika!" Pikachu replied happily, raising one hand in response.

"Guess that's it, then!" Ash announced. "Looks like we're heading to the Sinnoh region!"

Delia couldn't help but watch sadly, yet proudly, as her son began planning his next adventure. _"It seems like he's always going off somewhere or another...but, then again, he is a Pokemon Trainer. I just hope he stays safe..."_

In the midst of Ash and May's newfound excitement, they didn't notice Max slowly sulking out of the room. Brock did, however, and chose to follow him as he walked outside, to the front of the house.

Some time later, after the initial excitement about heading to a new region had died down, Ash and May noticed that Brock and Max had left the room.

"Huh?" Ash said, glancing around the room for them. "Hey, Mom, did you see where Brock or Max went?"

"Oh, I think they're out in the front somewhere." Delia answered vaguely.

"I wonder what they're doing out there..." Ash muttered, making his way outside along with May.

Sure enough, standing out in the admittedly small front yard was Max, facing away from the house, with Brock at his side, hands on his hips.

"Hey, guys, what're you doing out here?" Ash asked, walking up to them. Brock turned to face them, but Max remained turned away.

"Max just needed someone to talk to." Brock explained simply, turning to the younger boy. "Don't you want to tell them?"

"Max?" May prodded, looking questioningly at the back of her brother's head. "What's wrong?"

"I...don't want to go to Sinnoh." Max said softly, not turning around.

May blinked, then smiled slowly. "That's all? Max, there's nothing wrong with that. Where do you want to go?"

Max hesitated a moment before answering. "...Home."

May's eyes widened in surprise. "Home? You mean, with Mom and Dad?"

Max nodded slowly. "Y-yeah. I really liked going around with you guys and everything...but now...I don't know. It seems like you guys don't really need me around as much anymore...and besides - "

"Max! What do you mean by that?" May demanded.

"I dunno, I just used to feel like you liked having me around, you know, cause we're family. But ever since that day in the hospital on Chrysanthemum Island..." Max trailed off, silently recalling the time that May had requested Ash's presence over Max's. "It's not like I'm mad or anything...I just feel kinda left out now."

"Max..."

The boy finally turned around to face the others. "Besides, my tenth birthday's coming up soon. I always wanted to go through the Hoenn League first, so I guess it just makes sense for me to go back home."

Brock watched the boy, grinning in approval as he talked.

"Oh, Max." May breathed as she stepped forward, grabbing her younger brother in a forced embrace. "I just want you to remember one thing. You'll always be my little brother, no matter what happens with anyone else."

"Y-you mean that?" Max squeaked back, not hugging her back, but not attempting to break away, either. "Really?"

"Of course." May answered.

"...Thanks, May." Max said back, slowly beginning to hug her back.

Ash stood off to the side, not wanting to interrupt the two of them. As he did, he remembered what Brock had mentioned in the house, and turned to his older friend. "So, Brock? What about you? You coming to Sinnoh with us?"

Brock met Ash's gaze. "...No, I don't think so."

Ash had been afraid of this answer. "I kinda guessed you'd say that. What's going on?"

"Nothing. But you and May are both excited about going to Sinnoh...I think you two need that time together."

"What?"

"Believe it or not, Ash, I do know a thing or two about relationships." Brock explained, chuckling. "I think it'd be a great thing for you and May to have that time together, just the two of you."

Ash was silent for a few moments, as he thought over what Brock was saying. He certainly didn't fully understand it, but at the same time, it still seemed to make sense. "Thanks, Brock."

"Don't worry about it. Pewter City's not that far from here, anyway. And it'll be good to see my siblings again." Brock answered happily.

Ash nodded understandably, turning his gaze back to the two embracing siblings standing between them.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	26. Chapter 26: Separate Ways

_This segment of chapters, not including Chapter 24, were all prime examples of me hating to write transition/filler, by the way...  
_

* * *

Everyone remained at Ash's house for the night, despite their differing travel arrangements. Brock thoroughly enjoyed the taste of someone's cooking other than his own, and Max even seemed to have taken a liking to Mr. Mime.

Delia seemed to have no problems allowing May to sleep in Ash's room with him. He initially offered her his bed, but she declined and said that she wanted to spend one night with Max, given his recent feelings toward them. They both set up next to each other on the floor beside the bed, leaving Brock one of the sofas in the living room, which he seemed perfectly content with.

The following morning, while Brock was getting his things together for the journey back to Pewter City, Ash took a short trip back to Professor Oak's lab. He'd been thinking about leaving some of his current Pokemon there for now, and he'd even considered taking one or two of his old Pokemon to Sinnoh with him for once.

In the end, he decided to leave Donphan, Corphish, and Swellow behind, keeping Grovyle with him for the time being. He also took Totodile with him, still leaving a good amount of room for new Pokemon from Sinnoh. He also had a fair amount of confidence in the fact that he was taking one Pokemon from each of his previous journeys with him on this new quest.

By the time Ash had gotten back to the house, Brock was already getting ready to leave. Everyone was standing out in the front, though Brock was the only one with his backpack.

"Hey, there you are." Brock remarked in relief, watching Ash as he came running up and took up position on the outside of the group, next to May. "I was wondering if you were going to show up."

"Sorry..." Ash muttered. "So...you're ready to go...?"

"Yep." Brock answered, nodding. "I'm all set."

Ash, May, and Max all held Brock's stare nervously. Ash had watched Brock leave their group before, and he knew that he would stay in close contact, but Ash still couldn't help feeling slightly anxious. He couldn't imagine how May and Max were feeling.

"It's been fun, you guys." Brock said, breaking the silence. "Max, make sure you keep me updated on your own journey."

Max nodded slowly in response. "S-see you later."

"Make sure you keep in touch." May told him.

"Sure." Brock assured her. "I wouldn't miss hearing about you two for anything."

May smiled, her cheeks turning pink at his comment.

When Brock turned to Ash, the two shared another moment of silence, silently understanding the other. The two had gone separate ways numerous times in the past, and they both knew that this was no different.

"I'll be seeing you, then." Ash offered.

"Pika, pi." Pikachu added.

"Yeah. You can count on it." Brock told him, grinning.

With that, Brock turned and began walking up the road, leading him away from Pallet Town and into the woods separating Pallet Town and Viridian City. The three did not move until he was out of sight.

After saying goodbye to Delia, Ash bought all three of them tickets for the ferry to Petalburg City. Due to his newfound habit of doing this, he had politely asked his mother for some more money for the next few months. She had obliged happily.

All three of them were now leaning over the edge of the ferry, their arms on the railing, except for Ash, who had left his right arm dangling.

"I'd say something about it being different with no Brock around..." May began, slowly turning her gaze from the water up to Ash. "But it's about to get a little more complicated than that."

"Yeah, you guys are saying that." Max cut in from behind May. "What about me? I'm going with _no one_."

"Yeah, that's true." May admitted.

"You don't know that, Max." Ash said, smiling over at Max from May's other side. "When I first began my journey, I didn't have anyone to go with, either. I met them all as I went."

"Wow, really?" Max replied, somewhat surprised by the older Trainer's words. "You never told us that."

"Pika!" Pikachu answered sincerely, nodding happily.

"That's right." Ash added encouragingly.

"So how did you meet everyone, then?" Max asked excitedly, eager to hear one of Ash's stories.

"Well, that's kind of a long story." Ash answered, chuckling at the boy's excitement. "Uh, let's see...you remember Misty, right?"

"The girl with the Togepi? 'Course I do!"

"Well, I ran into her just outside of Viridian City. Pikachu was injured, and these Spearow had been chasing us. I ran into her out in the woods, and kind of stole her bike to get to the Pokemon Center."

"Wow, Ash. The first time you see someone, you steal their bike?" Max prodded jokingly. "I'm surprised she decided to travel around with you after that."

"Well, it wasn't really that easy." Ash admitted honestly. "Especially since Pikachu kind of fried the bike with Thundershock after we made it to the Pokemon Center."

"Pika, pi..." Pikachu said, putting a hand behind its head in embarrassment.

"I seem to remember you two doing something to _my_ bike when we first met, too..." May hinted, narrowing her eyes at Ash and Pikachu.

"Oh yeah, you told me about that!" Max piped up. "Pikachu was sick or something, and was shooting off Thunderbolts everywhere. Right?"

"Right." Ash nodded. "I didn't even know May then. I was actually going to see Professor Birch, but she was there, too."

"What else, though?" Max demanded excitedly. "Like, how you'd meet Brock? Wasn't he the Pewter City Gym Leader back then?"

As Ash continued explaining his previous travels to Max, May couldn't help but notice another trait she liked about Ash. In her eyes, he was the perfect role model for her younger brother.

After Max had heard about all of Ash's previous companions, Ash offered him the chance to play with Totodile and Pikachu. Even though Max claimed that he knew it was just a ploy to get them away for a while, both Pikachu and himself agreed. After releasing Totodile and giving a brief introduction to May and Max, the three ran off to the inner halls of the ship.

Ash watched them run off, and therefore didn't notice May watching him lovingly. When he turned back to her, he stared back blankly for a second at her expression. "Um...what's wrong?"

"Nothing." May replied. "Thanks for talking to Max."

"Sure, no problem." Ash told her. "It was kinda cool to talk about the old days, anyway."

"No, I mean...you've talked to him a lot before, too. About being a Pokemon Trainer and stuff..."

"Oh. Yeah, I mean, why not?" Ash continued, not quite grasping why May was thanking him. "He'd have to learn this stuff sooner or later, anyway, so why not now?"

May watched him for a second longer, smiling, then moved forward and threw her arms around him.

Ash looked at her awkwardly as she did, slightly taken aback by her actions. "M-May?"

"Ash...just...thank you."

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	27. Chapter 27: The Coming Storm

_And NOW it starts to get good again._

_That's all for tonight, folks. Next time I should be uploading the next mini-saga, which is 4 parts, and I personally enjoyed writing it more than Day of Black Pyramid. Buuut, my other fans seemed to enjoy DoBP more, so, who knows.  
_

* * *

The boat ride to Hoenn actually lasted for the next few days, during which time Ash, May, Max, and Pikachu all stayed in the same cabin. Max was still apprehensive about Ash and May's relationship, and thus wasn't very fond of their cabin situation at first. But it didn't take long for him to realize that the two of them were still fairly shy about their coupling as well, and before long, Max was actually talking to Ash about it.

"So Ash, what exactly do you see in my sister?" Max asked one such night. They were all sitting around in their room, getting ready to go to sleep for the night. The room had two bunk beds, similar to the Pokemon Centers, and May and Max took one and Ash the other, with Ash and May occupying the respective bottom bunks. "I mean, I've lived with her for my whole life, and I can't say too much to recommend her - "

"Max!" May interjected sharply, shooting a playful glare up at her younger brother.

"What? I'm just telling him the truth!" Max responded defensively.

"Pii-ka." Pikachu chuckled from its position on the floor.

"I dunno..." Ash mumbled, looking across the room at May. "I mean, we've been friends for so long already, traveling around in Hoenn and Kanto with you guys. I guess it just...kinda...came naturally?"

"Came naturally?" Max echoed skeptically. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Well, hey, how do you think I'm feeling?" Ash defended. "I don't really understand any of it, but..."

Max continued to watch Ash for a moment longer, as if hoping he would say something else. When he remained silent, simply staring across the room at May, Max merely sighed. "Ah, whatever. You guys can just keep staring into each other's eyes all night, if you want, but I'm gong to sleep."

As he rolled over toward the wall and closed his eyes, Ash and May held their glance. After he had turned away, they merely smiled at each other before turning over themselves and drifting off to sleep.

When the ship finally arrived at the dock just outside Petalburg City, the three of them were more than ready to be off the ship and back on dry land. The last couple of days had been unnaturally dry, and now, as they stepped off onto the shores of Hoenn, storm clouds were visibly rolling in from far on the horizon.

"Whoa, look at that..." Max remarked, noticing the dark clouds far off in the sky for the first time.

"Looks like it's gonna rain later..." May noted. "Good thing, it's been really hot lately."

The walk to the city didn't take long at all. Within an hour of leaving the ferry, they were already walking into the somewhat large town.

"Oh, man, it's great to be back home!" Max exclaimed. "It's been so long!"

"I know what you mean." May added. "I can't wait to see Beautifly and Skitty!"

"Yeah, and Mom, Dad, and Kenny, too!" Max added excitedly. "I wonder how Dad's doing with the Gym?"

"If he's as strong as he was before, he's probably doing just fine." Ash assured him.

"Pika, pika." Pikachu added happily.

"Hey, Ash, are you gonna have another battle with him?" Max asked in anticipation. "You've still got three Pokemon with you, you know!"

"Hey, you're right." Ash admitted. "And I bet Grovyle would love to have another match with Slaking. What do you think, buddy?"

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu answered jovially, raising one hand in response.

"I don't think you'll have any trouble convincing him to battle you, at least." May added jokingly. "Especially after we tell him about...you know."

"Oh, yeah..." Ash replied, his excitement disappearing instantly.

When the trio arrived at May and Max's house, they noticed that Kenny, Norman's gym assistant, who was usually seen out in front of their house, was nowhere to be found.

"Huh...I wonder where Kenny is." May noted as they walked up the steps to the front door.

"I dunno..." Max added, glancing around the yard for him as they walked.

Once they were all inside, and had removed their shoes, May and Max happily called out to their mother.

"Hey, Mom! Are you here?" Max cried out happily.

"Mom! We're home!" May added.

A few seconds later, Caroline appeared from behind a corner, clad in her usual clothing as well. "Oh, May, Max!"

"Mom!" The two siblings exclaimed in unison, running up to Caroline and embracing her tightly.

"So you came here all the way from Kanto?" Caroline asked once they were all situated in the living room. Max, May, and Ash were all on the same couch this time, in that order, and Caroline was across from them on the other sofa. She had said that Norman was next door in the Gym, currently battling yet another challenger, along with Kenny. "But why?"

"Well...it's kind of a funny story..." May began slowly, ignoring the sly glance that Max was now shooting her. "Um..." She found herself grasping Ash's hand for support. She looked over at him, remembering when he had told his own mother about the two of them not too long ago. He softly nodded back at her.

"Yes, dear?"

May looked back at her mother. "Well...Mom...me and Ash...we...we're kind of...t-together...now."

Caroline blinked back at her, watching in slight disbelief as her daughter stumbled over her words, and as her cheeks flushed pink. Glancing over at Ash, who was watching May intently, a small smile began to appear on her face. "Really?"

"U-um...yeah."

Caroline smiled happily at May's words. "Well, honey, I think that's wonderful. I always wondered about the two of you, honestly."

May smiled back at her thankfully. "Thanks, Mom."

"But...that still doesn't explain why you came back home. Not that I'm complaining." Caroline added.

"I'm the one who asked to come home." Max cut in. "Remember? My tenth birthday is coming up soon!"

"Oh, that's right!" Caroline gasped in sudden realization. "I had almost forgotten, since you'd left home!"

"Yeah, Max asked us if we could come back by here and drop him off." Ash explained.

"Drop him off?" Caroline echoed, confused. "Where are you two going? And speaking of which...where's Brock?"

"Oh, that's right...we didn't tell you yet." May answered slowly. "Brock went home to Pewter City when we were staying in Pallet Town at Ash's house. We were planning to go to the Sinnoh region...by ourselves."

"Sinnoh? Alone? Hmm..." Caroline replied slowly, thinking it over for a second. "Well, I don't see anything wrong with that."

"All right!" May exclaimed in response. "Thanks a lot, Mom!"

"Now, now, don't get too excited. We still have to talk to your father about all this, and we all know he's going to have something to say here."

Meanwhile, over in the Gym, Norman was actively engaged in a Gym battle with his latest challenger, with Kenny as the referee. Norman had lost Slakoth, and was currently using Vigoroth, but the dark-haired challenger had lost two of his three allotted Pokemon, and was down to his last one, Scyther.

"Vigoroth, use Slash attack!" Norman ordered.

"VIGOROTH!" Vigoroth bellowed, swinging one of its large arms forward as it charged at the challenger's Scyther.

"Scyther, Vacuum Wave, now!"

"Scy-ther!" Scyther cried, crossing its blade-arms for a split-second before slicing out with both of them, sending a wave of air flying out at the oncoming Vigoroth.

Vigoroth didn't have time to dodge, given the sheer speed of the move, but it ended up not doing much damage to it, either.

"You might want to train your Scyther a little better for its moves next time." Norman commented as Vigoroth leered at Scyther from across the field.

The challenger grunted angrily at this and gestured at his Pokemon. "Scyther, go! Use Wing Attack!"

"Scyyyther!" Scyther screeched, lifting off from the ground and flying forward at Vigoroth as its wings began to glow white.

"Vigoroth, jump above Scyther and use Slash again!"

"VIGOROTH!" Vigoroth repeated in a bellow, leaping above Scyther as it streaked toward it and bearing down on it with a mighty slash as it passed underneath.

"No!" The challenger cried, as Scyther slammed into the floor and Vigoroth bounced away, back to Norman's side.

"Are you finished yet?" Norman asked. "Or should we keep going?"

"Shut up! Scyther, get up and use Vacuum Wave again!"

"Scy...ther..." Scyther grumbled weakly, attempting to get up off the floor, but to no avail.

"I guess that's our answer." Norman continued with a sense of finality.

"Scyther is unable to battle!" Kenny roared from the sidelines, raising a hand on Norman's side. "The challenger, Will, from Blackthorn City, is out of usable Pokemon! The victory goes to the Gym Leader, Norman!"

"Good job out there, Vigoroth. You were great." Norman called, recalling his Pokemon.

"Argh..." Will grunted under his breath. "Scyther, return!"

Norman turned to him as he began to walk out of the Gym without another word. "Your Pokemon weren't bad at all. But you need to work on trusting them out on the battlefield."

Will briefly turned back to him, but then continued walking out and left without any further words.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	28. Chapter 28: Darkest of Days

_Hey guys, time for another update! With the second mini-saga, I hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

"Hey, you guys! I'm here to see you!" May called out into the open greenhouse before her. As they were all forced to wait for Norman to finish his Gym Battle, she had decided to head next door and see her old Pokemon, along with Ash, of course.

"I bet those two've made great friends with Slaking and the others." Ash remarked cheerfully.

"Yeah, I hope so." May replied, looking into the trees hopefully. The greenhouse usually housed Slakoth, Vigoroth, and Slaking in addition to May's Pokemon, but none of the former were present at the moment, due to Norman's battle.

Suddenly, they heard a steady flutter of wings high above them, and when they looked up, they were met with the sight of a large, multicolored butterfly slowly flying down to May.

"Piika!" Pikachu cried, pointing a stubby finger up at the approaching Pokemon.

"Beauti-flyyy!" Beautifly chimed happily.

"Beautifly!" May echoed.

Just as Beautifly was fluttering down to them, they heard a rustling in the bushes in front of them, and a second later, a small pink and yellow kitten-like creature was scurrying toward May as well.

"Myaaaa!" Skitty mewed affectionately, rushing over to May's side.

"Skitty!" May bent down to pet her old companion as Beautifly landed on her head.

"Looks like they haven't changed one bit." Ash commented happily.

"Oh, that's right!" May exclaimed suddenly, reaching back into her pack and producing two of her Pokeballs. "I have a couple of new friends for you guys to meet!"

"Myaa!" Skitty mewed in anticipation.

"Squirtle, Eevee, come on out!" May beckoned, tossing the two capsules into the air. Squirtle and Eevee emerged on either side of Skitty.

"Squirtle!" Squirtle chirped cheerfully.

"Ee-vee!" Eevee remarked, shaking itself off.

"Now, you guys play nice!" May called as the three small Pokemon ran off deeper into the greenhouse together.

"Beauti-fly...?" Beautifly chimed, eyeing the flower in May's hair strangely from its perch on her head.

"Oh, this is mine." May explained, looking up at her Pokemon. "Ash got it for me a little while back."

"Flyy?" Beautifly began slowly, blinking a couple of times at Ash before seeming to grin at him. "Beauti-flyy!"

"What? You lost?" Will's associate repeated angrily, glaring at him. "I thought you said you'd take care of it!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't think he'd be that strong!" Will shot back. "Besides, I don't see you stepping up to fight him!"

"This whole thing was my idea in the first place!" The man countered. "Do you want a part of this operation or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, all right." Will said, backing down. "But I did get something out of that battle."

"Oh, really? What?"

Will flashed him a smile. "Norman's kids are visiting. They're both in the house with him right now."

The man turned away from Will for a moment, considering this new information.

After a few seconds of silence, Will took a step toward him. "Well, Aaron? What do you say?"

Aaron turned back to face him, smiling as well. "All right. We'll do it."

After returning to their house, under an ever-darkening sky of storm clouds, Norman and Kenny were met with the unexpected sight of Max sitting in the living room, idly watching TV as Caroline was preparing lunch in the kitchen.

"Max, what are you doing here?" Norman asked in confusion as he entered the room, along with Kenny.

"Huh?" Max said, turning to face Norman. His face lit up when he saw who had asked. "Oh, hey, Dad!"

"Hi..." Norman greeted as his son ran up and hugged him. "But...when did you get here? I thought you and May were still over in Kanto with Ash."

"We were, we just got home today!" Max answered excitedly, guiding him toward the kitchen eagerly. "Come on, Mom can tell you the whole story!"

"Oh, hi, dear." Caroline greeted when she saw Norman entering the kitchen, with Max and Kenny behind him. "How did your battle go?"

"It was fine, he didn't win...but what's all this about May and Max coming home today?"

"Oh, yes, that's right. We've got quite the story for you, don't we, Max?"

Next door, Ash and May had just left the greenhouse and were making their way back to the front door of the house, when they saw a familiar figure approaching the building from further down the street.

"Hey, who's that...?" May inquired, Beautifly still perched on her head.

"I dunno..." Ash answered softly, staring intently at the approaching figure, trying for a better look at him.

A few seconds later, once he was close enough to speak normally, Will decided to respond himself. "What? You mean you don't remember me?"

May glared at him as she heard this, instantly remembering his voice from the Chrysanthemum Contest Hall. "You!"

Ash recognized him as well, albeit not as quickly as May had. "You're Trey's older brother from the Battle Pyramid!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu growled, jumping down in front of Ash.

"Yeah, that's right." Will replied casually. "I actually meant to thank him for bailing me out back there, but then, it was his dumb girlfriend's fault that I was knocked out to begin with."

"Anyway..." He continued a moment later. "I don't want to make things hard again. I need you to come with me for a little while." He said, pointing at May.

"What? Yeah, right!" May shot back fiercely. "You think I didn't learn my lesson last time?"

"Look, we don't plan on hurting you at all right now." Will explained.

"'We'?" Ash cut in. "Who else is here? Nate?"

"Nate?" Will replied incredulously. "That guy screwed things up bad enough back at the Pyramid. I wouldn't work with him again even if he was still alive."

"Then who is it?" Ash demanded.

"I don't think it's anyone you would know, kid." Will assured him. "Look, again, this doesn't have to be hard. Just come with me, girl, and nobody has to - "

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" May cried angrily.

"Would you rather my Seviper take another shot at your arm, instead?" Will fired back coldly, drawing a Pokeball.

"That's not happening again." Ash said defiantly, drawing his own Lure Ball as May subconsciously put a hand over the barely-visible fang marks on her left arm.

"Pika!" Pikachu growled in agreement.

Will glanced between the two of them, then shrugged helplessly. "All right, whatever. But don't blame me when you kids get hurt. Seviper, go!"

"See-viper!" Seviper hissed, emerging from Will's Pokeball in a flash of light.

"Totodile, I choose you!" Ash cried, tossing out his Lure Ball.

"Toto toto!" Totodile chanted, emerging across from Seviper.

The two Pokemon stared each other down for a moment, as the dark clouds in the sky above them continued to gather, blocking out the sun, while Pikachu remained by Ash's side, staring at Will intently with anger in its eyes.

Then, the first attack was called, and the battle began.

"Hey, looks like it's going to rain today." Kenny noted, glancing out one of the side windows of the house. "Huh?" He noticed a somewhat grown man approaching the Gym next door, appearing to be in his late twenties or so. He had slightly spiky brown hair and wore a simple black button-up shirt and blue jeans.

"What's that?" Norman began, coming up behind Kenny and looking out the window as well. "Another challenger already?"

"Looks like it." Kenny admitted sadly. "I'll go and let him in."

"Right, I'll be over there in a second." Norman said, waving to him briefly as he left the room. He then ducked back into the kitchen, hoping to get a taste of whatever it was Caroline was making before heading over for another battle.

Kenny, on the other hand, hastily made his way over to the Gym, ducking in through the back entrance and rushing to the front to open the door as the new challenger was knocking insistently.

"Sorry about that." Kenny said sincerely, chuckling nervously as he opened the door and let the man inside. "I guess you're here to challenge the Gym Leader? He'll be here in just a minute."

The man nodded in response. "Yes. My name's Aaron."

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	29. Chapter 29: Darkest of Days II

_Part 2. I've gotten some flak for the ending of this chapter, and I understand why. I'll be interested to see what you guys have to say about it._

* * *

"Seviper, use Swift, let's go!" Will ordered, calling his first attack hastily.

"Se-viper!" Seviper cried, shooting a flurry of star-shaped rays out of its mouth at Totodile.

"Totodile, use Water Gun to block it!" Ash called.

"To-to!" Totodile chimed, blasting a stream of water out of its mouth to meet the oncoming attack.

The two attacks clashed in midair, causing a small explosion. A few seconds later, the stream of water from Totodile shot through the cloud of smoke, striking Seviper on the head.

"Hit it with Headbutt!" Will ordered, gesturing toward Totodile.

"Seee-viper!" Seviper hissed, rearing back and charging toward Totodile headfirst.

"Dodge it, and use Slash!"

"Toto toto-dile!" Totodile chanted, gracefully leaping out of the way as Seviper charged past it. Turning back a second later, it slashed down on the Fang Snake Pokemon with glowing white claws.

"Hit it away with Poison Tail!"

"Seviiiper!" Seviper cried, turning back to glare at Totodile while swinging its brilliant purple tail at the small Pokemon desperately, Totodile dodging each and every swing.

"Good job, Totodile!" Ash praised. "Now use Slash one more time!"

"Toto - " Totodile began, leaping into the air again and preparing to slash at Seviper again, but before it knew what had happened, Seviper had swung its Poison Tail again. Totodile was hit square in the chest, the wind thoroughly knocked out of it.

"Totodile!" Ash cried.

"Nice one, Seviper!" Will called. "Now use Poison Fang, before it gets away!"

"Seeee-VIPER!" Seviper roared, drawing back as its fangs began to glow purple as well. It bit down on the stunned Totodile a second later, sinking its poisonous fangs into the defenseless skin of the Big Jaw Pokemon.

"Piika!" Pikachu cried out in surprise.

"No! Totodile!" Ash repeated, concern in his voice. May was watching from behind him, a worried expression on her face as she recalled what Seviper's Poison Fang had felt like to her.

Seviper shook Totodile around in its mouth for a short while, then threw it to the side in a heap. Totodile lay there, collapsed on the ground, as Seviper's double dose of poison began working in its body.

"Totodile! Are you all right?"

"To...to..." Totodile grunted harshly, breathing heavily as it attempted to get up off the ground. Seviper slithered back to Will's side of the field, and a second later, Totodile collapsed for good.

"Looks like that's it for your Pokemon." Will taunted.

Ash grunted angrily, recalling Totodile with gritted teeth. He then looked down to Pikachu, who was still glaring across the field at Will, sparks flaring from its cheeks. "Are you up for this, buddy?"

Pikachu looked up at him, fire in its eyes. "Pii-ka." It replied confidently, nodding to him.

Just as he was about to send it out, though, May stepped forward, simultaneously recalling Beautifly in the process. "Hold on a minute. Let me handle him, Ash."

"Wha - ?" Ash began, looking at her confusedly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She replied confidently, nodding back to him. "You left most of your Pokemon back at Professor Oak's, remember? Besides...I've got some unfinished business with this guy."

Ash blinked at her, then nodded uncertainly, prompting her to step forward. She turned to face Will, who merely smirked at her mockingly.

"Oh, so _you're_ going to defeat me? Yeah, sure."

May narrowed her eyes at him. "Let's go, Combusken!" She cried, tossing a Pokeball forward.

"Coooom-busken!" Combusken boomed, emerging on the field in front of her.

"Hey, wait, I remember that thing." Will remarked, watching Combusken intently. "It forced itself out of its Ball when Seviper attacked you."

"Combusken!" Combusken cawed, noticing who its opponent was and firing up instantly.

"You'd better remember it. Combusken, Sky Uppercut, go!"

"This Gym Battle will consist of the challenger, Aaron, from Pewter City, battling the Gym Leader, Norman, from Petalburg City!" Kenny called out, once Aaron and Norman had set up for their battle. "Each trainer will be allowed three Pokemon each, with no substitutes!"

There was a period of silence, with Aaron and Norman simply staring each other down across the field.

Glancing between both trainers, Kenny then raised both hands and swung them down swiftly. "Let the battle begin!"

"All right, Slakoth, I choose you!" Norman cried, tossing out one of his three Pokeballs.

"Slakoth, sla." Slakoth murmured lazily, smirking at Aaron as it materialized on the field.

Aaron merely grinned, producing one of his Pokeballs. "Okay, then...go, Regirock!"

Kenny and Norman both recoiled in shock as the legendary Rock Pokemon emerged before Aaron across the room.

"Regi-rock-ock!" Regirock chanted, the circular markings on its face lighting up in sequence.

"What the - what is - that?" Kenny cried in disbelief.

"A Regirock?" Norman remarked, gaping in awe at the legendary golem now standing across from his Slakoth.

Aaron's grin widened. "So, then, Norman. Are you ready to begin, or not?"

"Seviper, use Poison Fang, quick!" Will cried desperately.

"Hit it away with Sky Uppercut!" May called in response.

Combusken watched Seviper closely as it closed in on it, fangs bared wide. At the last second, Combusken brought its glowing fist up, hard, nailing Seviper in the roof of its mouth, and sending it flying across the field.

"You...!" Will grunted angrily.

The battle had quickly turned against Will with Combusken now on the field. The slower serpent Pokemon simply couldn't keep up with Combusken's above average speed, especially since Totodile had already gotten a couple of hits off on it.

"Seviper, get up, now!" Will ordered harshly. "Use Swift on Combusken!"

"Se...viper..." Seviper grunted, slowly drawing itself up off the ground. It hung there for a moment, attempting to power up its tail, but it fell back flat on the ground before too long, unconscious.

"No!" Will roared. "Return, now!"

He glared nervously at May and Combusken after recalling Seviper, reaching a shaking hand to grab another of his Pokeballs.

"Pika?" Pikachu chirped inquisitively, turning its head to the side all of the sudden.

"Huh? What's the matter, buddy?" Ash asked, turning to see what Pikachu was staring at. Will and May turned as well.

They were all met with the sight of a black-shirted man running down the street toward them. He seemed somewhat familiar to Ash and May, but that wasn't what struck them about him.

It was the Regirock following him down the street. And it had Norman slumped over its shoulder, presumably out cold.

"What the - ?" Ash cried out. "Is that a Regirock?"

"Who are you? What did you do to my dad?" May demanded at once.

The man remained silent until he was at Will's side. Then, he slowly turned to face them, his mouth twisted in a smirk. "You mean you don't remember me?"

Ash and May both remained silent for a moment, staring intently at the man's face, but to no avail.

"Maybe this will jog your memory." The man said, drawing up his hand in imitation of a gun and pointing it at May. "I think this is the part where you jump in and save her, tough guy."

Ash blinked at the man, and then it all came to him. This was the man who had betrayed Brandon at the Battle Pyramid, and who had ended up shooting Ash in the shoulder. "You - you're from the Battle Pyramid!"

May nodded angrily at the man. "Yeah, I remember you now! You blew the entire Pyramid up, and nearly got us killed!"

"Right. See? I knew you remembered me." The man patronized. Then he turned to Will. "Are you finished here?" He jerked his head back to Regirock. "I got what we came for."

Will glared at Ash and May as he answered. "Well, I was going to try and get the girl, too, but..."

Aaron turned and frowned at the two of them, along with Combusken and Pikachu. "You lost against _them_?"

"Well...Seviper lost, at least. That's about where I was when you showed up." Will admitted.

Aaron shook his head disapprovingly. "You idiot. Let me handle this, since you clearly can't."

Ash and May tensed up as they sensed an attack coming their way soon. "Combusken, get ready!" May called.

"Regirock, use Hyper Beam!" Aaron ordered without hesitation.

"Regi-rock!" Regirock boomed from out of nowhere, firing an enormous beam of orange-colored energy at Combusken from its face.

"COMBUS-KEN!" Combusken howled as the attack connected, giving no chance to evade. Combusken sailed backward through the air and slammed into the ground far behind Ash and May.

"Combusken! No!" May cried, turning to run over to her fallen Pokemon. Before she took five steps, however, Regirock had jumped and landed in front of her, blocking her path.

"Do it, Regirock!" Aaron ordered.

"Agh - May!" Ash grunted, turning to stop her just as Regirock swung its free arm at her, striking her on the head and knocking her out immediately, similar to what it had done to Norman back in the Gym. "MAY!"

"Good job. Let's get out of here." Aaron said, motioning to Regirock and Will. Regirock jumped back over to Aaron's side, May now slumped over one shoulder and Norman the other, following the two humans as they began to walk away.

"Hey, WAIT A MINUTE!" Ash bellowed after them, as Combusken slowly got up off the ground behind him. "Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, jumping forward and beginning to charge toward Regirock as a massive yellow aura began to build up around it. "Pikapikapikapikapikapika!"

"Hm?" Aaron mumbled, turning back to see Pikachu charging toward Regirock. "Regirock, Iron Defense!"

"Regi-rock-ock." Regirock grunted, freezing on the spot as its body suddenly glittered in the sunlight. When Pikachu collided with it, it simply bounced off, sailing back through the air toward Ash.

"Are you going to make this hard?" Aaron said to Ash in an almost bored voice.

"You're not leaving with them!" Ash roared, teeth gritted in anger as he grabbed his final Pokeball from his pack. "Grovyle, I choose you!"

"Gro-vyle!" Grovyle chirped, emerging next to Pikachu, who appeared injured from his failed attack on Regirock.

"Grovyle, use - !" Ash began, but was cut off by Combusken streaking past them on foot, sprinting at breakneck speed toward Regirock with its right fist glowing white. " - Huh - !"

"COOOOM-BUSKEN!" Combusken bellowed, catching up to Regirock in no time at all and swinging its fist forward with as much strength as it could muster.

"Regi...rock." Regirock grunted, falling forward on its knees without dropping either of its captives, taking the Sky Uppercut boldly.

"Go, Grovyle!" Ash beckoned, gesturing toward the momentarily stunned Regirock. "Use Leaf Blade!"

"Grooo-vyle!" Grovyle cried, charging toward Regirock the leaf-like growth on its arm quickly grew into a glowing green blade.

"Yanmega, go!" Will cried hastily, releasing his Yanmega right in the path of Grovyle's attack.

"Yan, yan!" Yanmega roared, taking the Leaf Blade easily, and causing Grovyle to retreat slightly.

Aaron turned to Will in surprise. "Well, well. Looks like you did something right after all." With that, he turned and continued walking away with Regirock at his side.

"No!" Ash grunted, but Will and Yanmega stepped forward.

"I've had enough of you guys today." Will said simply.

"Combusken - !" Combusken began, beginning to run toward Yanmega, but to no avail.

"Yanmega, use Bug Buzz!"

"Yan, yan - YAAAAAAAN!" Yanmega screeched, an ear-splittingly high pitched noise that caused Ash, Grovyle, Combusken, and Pikachu all to collapse on the spot, covering their ears in agony.

"Aaaaaaaagh!" Ash moaned, pressing his hands as tight as he could against his ears, but he might as well have done nothing, for all the good it did him. The screeching seemed to go straight to his brain and block out all thought, replacing it all with a desperate impulse to drown out the noise.

It only lasted for about ten seconds, but it felt like much, much longer to the four hit by it. As soon as the noise stopped, Ash bought his hands down and quickly began to look around...but it was too late.

There was no sign of Will or Aaron, or any of their Pokemon. Norman and May were gone.

"MAY!" Ash called out helplessly, as Grovyle and Combusken drew themselves up from the ground. They, too, soon realized what had happened, and looked back at Ash sadly when they did. "MAY!"

He remained silent for a minute, almost believing that she would answer him back, but instead he was met only with the sound of water hitting the ground as the storm clouds that had been hovering over the city all day finally broke open, loosing their downpour on the citizens.

"MAAAAAAY!" Ash boomed one final time, slamming his fists into the dampened earth before him as the rain poured down around him, not caring about it in the slightest.

Pikachu slowly walked over to Ash's side and put a hand on his shoulder as tears began to fall down his cheeks, mixing with the rain as it fell to the ground.

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	30. Chapter 30: Darkest of Days III

Once Aaron and Will had made their way back to the small abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city that they had set up in previously, Regirock quickly deposited Norman and May against the back wall of the large, open central room, at Aaron's order.

"All right." Aaron began, recalling Regirock as he glanced at Will. "Tie them up."

Will did as he was told, retrieving the titanium cable that the two of them had procured for this very purpose. He tied each of them up individually, slumped against the back wall with separate coils of the thick metal cable restricting their arms and legs.

Aaron nodded in approval as Will drew back up from the floor, admiring his handiwork. "Good. Now keep an eye on them...I'm going to get things set up."

Will merely watched him with a frown on his face as he turned and left the room, heading into a much smaller chamber. Holding the expression, he turned back to Norman and May, lying against the wall in front of him as they slowly came to.

"Pika-chu." Pikachu muttered softly from Ash's side. The two of them had been trudging back to May's house in the rain, and Ash hadn't said a word since he'd watch Norman and May be carried away with Will and Aaron.

"Combuuus..." Combusken added sadly from Ash's other side. Given that May had been captured, Combusken had no Ball to retreat into, and so had taken to following Ash and Pikachu on foot.

Ash remained silent as he mindlessly walked forward through the rain, his eyes locked on the ground as he thought about what had happened. His hair and clothes had been completely soaked, but it didn't matter to him in the slightest.

Suddenly, breaking the prolonged period of silence, two people shot horizontally in front of Ash, Pikachu, and Combusken, causing the trio to freeze in their tracks.

"Piika?" Pikachu exclaimed in surprise, looking ahead and to the right to see who had effectively cut them off.

"Hey, sorry!" A girl's voice called apologetically as one of the two figures raised a hand without turning around.

Ash merely stared for a moment, as he had become all but unaware of his surroundings while he was lost in his own thoughts. They had arrived back at May's house, and that seemed to be where the two strangers were headed as well. After regaining his awareness, Ash walked up to the house behind the two people, who were already knocking at the door.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Caroline chimed happily, opening the door after a moment.

"Sorry to disturb you." The second of the two answered, a boy, as Ash and the Pokemon came up behind them. "We were just at the Gym, and we were wondering if we could stay in here until the Gym Leader gets back?"

"Because...you know, the rain, and all." The girl added hopefully.

"Of course, come in." Caroline replied, motioning for the two to come in, which they did in an instant. Looking back outside at Ash, she continued. "Oh, Ash, you're back. Come inside, you look soaked!"

Once they were all inside, the two strangers took off the wet, black raincoats they had been wearing, and Ash recognized them at once.

"Pika, pi!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Hey, Trey, Lily...!" Ash remarked, shocked at the sight of them. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hey, Ash!" Lily greeted happily.

"We told you we were going to Hoenn." Trey explained chuckling softly. "What else did you think we were going to do besides challenge the Gyms?"

"But I thought you and May were going to Sinnoh?" Lily inquired.

Ash looked away, a guilty look present on his face, as Caroline spoke up. "I take it you three know each other?"

Trey and Lily nodded in unison. "Yeah, we met them in Kanto a couple months back." Trey answered.

"Oh, speaking of May, Ash, where is she? I thought she was with you." Caroline asked, glancing at Ash quizzically.

Ash didn't answer right away. He slowly turned to look at Caroline, trying to summon up the courage to tell her. "She...um..."

Just then, however, Max burst into the room. "Mom! Come in here, quick! Something's on the TV!"

They all instantly followed Max into the living room, where he was gesturing in disbelief at the television set, where some sort of emergency broadcast system appeared to have overridden all of the normal programming.

"...We will say it again. We have the Petalburg City Gym Leader in our custody, as well as his daughter. Neither of them have been harmed yet, but that could all change very easily."

Ash watched hopelessly as Aaron, who had previously been taking up the entire frame, moved to the side to reveal Will standing beside the heavily restrained yet conscious forms of Norman and May.

And behind them stood the three Regis in a line; Regirock, Registeel, and Regice respectively.

Caroline's eyes widened in shock and her hands flew to her mouth to suppress her gasp of shock. Trey's eyes darkened when he saw Will, and Lily merely stared in surprise.

"Fifty million Pokedollars." Aaron declared, drawing a pistol of his pocket. Ash recognized it as the same one he had used to shoot Ash himself in the shoulder at the Battle Pyramid. "Mailed to this Gym Leader's current address. I know his family is listening." Aaron continued darkly, causing Ash to tense up. "Only they will be allowed near our location - just outside Petalburg City. In the warehouse district. Anyone else will be killed on sight."

Will watched his partner uncertainly as he approached Norman from the side and pointed the gun at his head. "Don't make us wait too long."

The signal cut out after that, and Max switched the TV off, tears welling up in his eyes.

Caroline was frozen for a moment, then she turned to Ash. "What...what happened?"

Ash avoided her gaze. "They took her. I couldn't...I couldn't stop them."

Trey watched him silently for a minute before speaking up. "You're going after them, aren't you?"

Ash looked back at him helplessly. "I..."

"Look, we know where they are now, right?" Trey continued encouragingly. "Why shouldn't we go after them?"

"No, you don't need to get involved with this." Caroline cut in. "I appreciate the offer, but..."

"No, you don't understand." Trey told her firmly. "One of those men is my brother. This is my problem, too."

Caroline gasped. "What?"

"And, well, whatever's Trey's problem is my problem, too, you know?" Lily added, smiling at Caroline.

Caroline looked back at them with gratitude in her eyes. "Well, I guess I can't very well stop you, can I?"

Trey and Lily turned to Ash. "So? You coming?" Trey asked.

Ash's gaze lingered on the floor for a long while as he thought through his options, and his feelings on what had happened earlier. Finally, he glanced up at Trey with a defiant gleam in his eye.

"Okay. Let's go."

The couple nodded at him approvingly and headed for the front door, grabbing their previously discarded black raincoats and slipping into them as they headed outside.

Pikachu leaped up on Ash's shoulder as he made to follow them, Combusken at his side. Before he could leave the room, however, Max stepped in his path, and he appeared to be holding back tears.

"Ash...?" Max squeaked in a small voice.

"Yeah?" Ash replied, stopping and looking down at him.

"...Are they gonna be okay?" Max continued, and Ash knew he was talking about May and Norman.

"Don't worry, Max. I'll get them both back." Ash assured him before running past him to catch up with Trey and Lily.

"Hey...that's May's Combusken, isn't it?" Trey asked, glancing over at Combusken through the pouring rain, once they had all taken off toward the outskirts of the city.

"Combus?" Combusken chirped, glancing over its shoulder to Trey.

"Oh, yeah." Ash answered. "May never had the chance to recall it before she...you know..."

"Oh...right." Trey muttered, turning away.

"So...May's the daughter of the Petalburg Gym Leader?" Lily chimed in, breaking the somewhat awkward silence that had followed. "You guys never told us that!"

"Yeah, she is." Ash answered shortly, remaining silent for a moment before continuing. "You guys...thanks for coming out here with me."

"No problem." Trey replied at once. "I've got to put a stop to Will for good this time, anyway - I guess saving his life at the Battle Pyramid was a mistake."

"And I really don't mind at all. Besides, I couldn't stand it if Trey was off fighting his older brother without me!" Lily answered cheerfully.

Ash nodded gratefully to the both of them before turning his attention back to the path before him. _"Hold on, you guys. We're coming."_

_

* * *

Please R&R!  
_


	31. Chapter 31: Darkest of Days IV

_Conclusion of Darkest of Days! Enjoy!_

* * *

"I guess this is the place." Trey declared, the group coming to a stop in front of a relatively small warehouse, with a large broadcast antennae sticking up from the roof.

"Yeah." Ash agreed.

They all stepped in through the loosely hinged entrance doors, leading them directly into a large open room with minimal lighting. Before they could go much further, a gunshot rang out from the darkness across the room, and Lily dropped to the floor in a flash of blood, clutching her right shoulder.

Trey caught her on the way down in both arms as Ash stared defiantly back into the darkness, noticing that Lily's injured shoulder is the same shoulder that Aaron had shot him in. "Aaron!"

Slowly, Aaron emerged from the dark, the pistol in his hands still pointing at Lily. "I told you - anyone other than Norman's family would be shot on sight. Now leave, before I shoot you as well."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cried angrily, leaping down from Ash's shoulder onto all fours.

"Com-busken!" Combusken boomed, glaring across the room at Aaron.

"I'm not leaving without them!" Ash declared.

Just then, the lights in the room flashed on, illuminating the space behind Aaron. May and Norman were fully awake and still tied up against the back wall, with Will next to them. It was Will who spoke next. "What are you two doing here?"

"Will!" Trey growled, still kneeled over, holding Lily up.

"You weren't supposed to - argh!" Will grunted angrily, turning to Aaron. "Why did you shoot her? You know he's my brother!"

"It doesn't matter. We warned them that we would shoot on sight." Aaron answered, not turning to face him and instead pointing the gun at Ash next. "One more chance."

"Ash!" May cried helplessly from across the room while Norman merely watched with gritted teeth.

Nobody moved for a good ten seconds before Aaron decided to speak again.

"Fine."

He fired, just as a flash of white light erupted from Ash's belt.

A second later, Grovyle was standing between Ash and Aaron, one of his arms raised in a defensive Leaf Blade, which had blocked the bullet.

Ash blinked, staring at Grovyle in surprise. "Gr-Grovyle..."

Aaron slowly lowered the gun, shaking his head. "Fine, then, you stubborn child. Regirock, Registeel, Regice, go!"

He quickly tossed three Pokeballs from his own belt, and the next thing Ash knew, he was staring down the three legendary golems.

"Gro!" Grovyle chirped, stepping forward as its Leaf Blade fizzled out and returned to normal.

"Coooombusken!" Combusken added, stepping forward as well.

"Pika - !" Pikachu began, but Ash motioned for it to back off. "Pika?"

"Let Grovyle and Combusken handle this, buddy." Ash told him.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked in shock.

"Yeah, they'll be fine."

"Piika..." Pikachu said, not entirely convinced as it turned its head back to the battle.

"Two against three?" Aaron asked, shrugging. "It's your choice, I suppose."

"Grooo..." Grovyle growled. Given the close connection between trainer and Pokemon, Grovyle's anger at Aaron for taking May was the same as Ash's, not to mention the fact that it had a score to settle with Regirock from earlier.

"Combus..." Combusken chirped. May was Combusken's trainer, and it didn't need any further reason to hate Aaron for what he had done. And he had May's father, as well, who Combusken felt extremely close to as well, once again due to the connection between trainer and Pokemon.

"Combusken..." May mumbled sadly from across the room.

Then, Aaron called his first attacks. "Regirock, Hyper Beam! Registeel, Metal Claw! Regice, Blizzard!"

Ash was taken by surprise at how quickly Aaron clearly intended to win this battle. "Dodge it, both of you!"

Both Pokemon obliged at once, easily dodging Hyper Beam and Metal Claw. Blizzard, however, hit them both head-on, damaging them significantly right off the bat.

"You guys okay?" Ash cried. After a quick stifled nod from them both, he continued. "Grovyle, use Leaf Blade on Regirock! Combusken, spray Flamethrower on Registeel and Regice!"

"Grooo-vyle!" Grovyle roared, summoning its Leaf Blade and streaking toward Regirock.

"Cooooom-busken!" Combusken bellowed, blasting a steady stream of fire at both Registeel and Regice.

"Regirock, Iron Defense! Registeel, use Zap Cannon to stop Combusken's Flamethrower! Regice, use Focus Punch on Combusken!"

Regirock crossed its arms in an X-shape across its chest, absorbing Grovyle's Leaf Blade when it hit and actually causing Grovyle to recoil slightly. Registeel fired a giant yellow orb from between its hands at Combusken, hitting it and thus stopping Flamethrower before it managed to hit, and consequently sending Combusken flying back while Regice took a moment to charge.

"Cooom-buuus-!" Combusken grunted, slamming into the ground behind Ash, its body sparking erratically.

"Grovyle, quick, use Quick Attack to stop Regice's Focus Punch!" Ash called hastily.

"Regirock, use Hyper Beam on Grovyle!" Aaron ordered.

"Regi-roooock!" Regirock boomed, firing a streak of orange energy across the room at Grovyle, who was streaking toward Regice with a white trail behind it before Hyper Beam hit.

"Grooo!" Grovyle cried, taking the attack from the side and thus slamming into the side wall.

"Grovyle!" Ash called. The battle had barely even started, and both Grovyle and Combusken were already badly hurt.

"Now, Regice!" Aaron ordered.

"Reg-iiiiice!" Regice chimed, beginning to bring its now-glowing fist forward. But before it could strike, it was hit from behind by an invisible wave of air, knocking it forward and cancelling the Focus Punch.

"What?" Aaron roared, turning around to see Will and his Scyther standing behind Regice. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Nice Vacuum Wave, Scyther." Will said, turning to face Aaron. "Shooting my brother's friends was never part of the deal! And neither was threatening to kill these two, either!"

Aaron gritted his teeth in frustration. "So, what, you're turning on me to protect them?"

Will shook his head angrily. "I wasn't totally sure about this whole thing from the beginning! And now you've shot an innocent girl!"

"It isn't much different than what you did, you fool!"

Will turned away, thinking back to his Seviper biting May. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I still think this is going too far!"

Aaron was silent for a moment as Grovyle and Combusken struggled to get to their feet across the room, a thin aura slowly appearing around both of them. "Fine. I don't need you, anyway, you fool!"

In an instant, he had redrawn his pistol and fired at Will. He was hit in the right shoulder, same as Ash and Lily, and dropped to his knees with gritted teeth. "Nice...try..."

Scyther watched in shock as Will was hit in the opposite shoulder with a second bullet, sending him toppling over onto his back. "Scyyyther..."

"Will!" Trey cried out as Ash, May, and Norman watched him fall to the floor in horror.

"And I've had enough of _you_, as well - " Aaron began, turning to point the gun at Ash.

But before he could pull the trigger, and before he could see it coming, Scyther had streaked across the room and impaled Aaron from behind with its right arm.

"Ugh...ach..." Aaron grunted, struggling to draw breath as he glanced down in shock at the bladed arm protruding from his chest.

Ash stared for a moment, still stunned by all that happened in the last minute. The gun fell from Aaron's hand as it slowly went limp, along with the rest of his body, as he fell the ground face first shortly after Scyther withdrew the blade. Ash took this moment to run across the room to May and Norman. He was quickly stopped, however, when he saw the titanium cable holding them.

He blinked once, staring at the metal rope, then looked back at Grovyle and Combusken far across the room. "Grovyle! Combusken! Help me break this cable!"

Both Pokemon responded almost at once, streaking across the room and slashing at the restraints with Leaf Blade and Sky Uppercut.

"Ash!" May exclaimed as soon as her bonds were broken, rushing into a hasty embrace with him. Norman stood up after her, rubbing his arms tenderly.

"Thanks, Ash. I'd imagine that there's a story behind all of this, but I don't think that now is the best time for that."

Ash nodded as May moved away, standing at Ash's side.

Norman pointed over their shoulders to Grovyle and Combusken, who now had a bright green and bright orange aura around them, respectively. "It looks like your Pokemon are still ready to fight."

Ash and May both turned to examine their Pokemon, and noticed the auras at once. "Yeah, that's Blaze and Overgrow!" Ash declared happily.

Near their location, Aaron, who was still lying facedown on the floor, slowly reached out for his gun, which was also on the floor not far from him. After a few seconds of reaching, he managed to grasp it once again.

Trey, who had been helping Lily slowly get back to her feet, noticed this just as Aaron started to roll over. "Hey, guys, look out!"

Ash and May saw the movement as Aaron completed the roll onto his back. He brought the gun up in a heartbeat and pointed it at Ash's head. "Die!"

Grovyle managed to block the bullet with its Leaf Blade, similar to the last time Aaron shot at Ash, prompting Aaron to call for his Pokemon in his rage. "Regirock, Registeel, Regice, attack! Now!"

The three Regis, who had been more or less waiting around ever since Scyther's attack, all leaped forward suddenly, standing between Aaron and Grovyle. After a moment, they lunged forward.

Grovyle summoned a second Leaf Blade and managed to block Regirock and Registeel, while Combusken blocked Regice, but only just. Even with the power-up from Blaze and Overgrow, they were still no match for the trio of Legendary Pokemon.

"Grovyle!" Ash cried.

"Combusken!" May echoed, concern in her voice. Just then, though, both Grovyle and Combusken erupted in a flash of white light.

"Huh...?" Ash muttered, watching as all three Pokemon were pushed back by the glowing forms that now eclipsed the room with white light. Grovyle and Combusken's bodies continued to grow until the Regis were shoved back entirely, leaving them free to complete the metamorphosis without encumbrance.

The next thing they knew, the light was gone, and where Grovyle and Combusken had stood moments before, now stood Sceptile and Blaziken, their bodies still awash with the auras from Overgrow and Blaze.

"Scep-tile!" Sceptile cried triumphantly.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken roared.

"Whoa..." Ash breathed, while May merely stared in wide-eyed shock. "You both evolved!"

Aaron gritted his teeth, grunting angrily at this new turn of events. "Regis! Destroy them all!"

"Regi-rock-ock." Regirock chanted, leading the charge as the three Pokemon charged at the newly-evolved Sceptile and Blaziken.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile cried, raising both arms to block Regirock and Registeel for the second time.

"Blaaaziken!" Blaziken boomed, grabbing both of Regice's arms and preventing it from moving any further.

Sceptile then threw the two Regis back and bowed its head slightly as the orbs on its back began to glow with energy, the sun now beginning to shine through the warehouse's skylights.

Blaziken heaved and tossed Regice into the air, igniting the flames on its wrists soon after. It then leaped into the air after Regice, drawing back its right leg as it began to catch fire as well.

Sceptile opened its mouth a moment later and blasted out a massive beam of light at Regirock and Registeel, hitting them dead-on with its Solarbeam attack.

Blaziken thrust out its leg the next second, nailing Regice in the chest with Blaze Kick. All three Regis were slammed into the far wall by the two Pokemon's attacks.

"Awesome, Sceptile! You learned Solarbeam!" Ash praised as the Regis toppled over to the floor in a heap.

"Nice work, Blaziken! You can use Blaze Kick!" May added happily.

"...W-we're not finished..." Aaron grunted from the floor, raising the pistol again. But before he could even take aim with it, Scyther had shot off another Vacuum Wave, blasting the weapon across the room, and certainly out of reach of Aaron's limp form.

"No, I think we _are_ finished." Norman remarked with a sense of finality. He reached back to his now-accessible belt, intending to grab Slaking's Pokeball, but Will's bloodied hand grabbed his ankle weakly as he went.

"Don't..." Will moaned weakly.

"What?" Norman demanded incredulously.

"Just...just leave." Will insisted. "It's...bad enough...the way this happened...for me...at least let me take care of him."

Norman stared at him for a moment, not sure how to respond. May caught Trey's eye, and she could tell that he agreed with his brother on this one. She grabbed Norman's arm lightly. "Dad...come on."

Norman glanced from her back to Will, and then back to Aaron, who was still weakly attempting to reach the discarded pistol. "...All right, then." He said finally, lowering his hand.

Ash and May quickly recalled Sceptile and Blaziken, and, after being reminded, Norman called the three Regis back to their respective Balls, as well, and placed them next to his own three Pokeballs for the moment.

Trey remained in place, staring at Will as well as supporting Lily with one arm, as the rest of them made to exit the warehouse. Pikachu climbed back up on Ash's shoulder, as well.

Once they were all gone, Trey slowly approached his older brother. Aaron was still squirming feebly across the room.

"That was a really stupid move, you know." Trey began roughly.

"Oh, you think so?" Will replied gruffly, chuckling softly as he lay on the floor, his shoulders still bleeding heavily. "Maybe you'd prefer to be shot, instead."

"I meant teaching Scyther Vacuum Wave in the first place." Trey corrected. "It doesn't match with Scyther's statistics at all."

The two brothers stared at each other for a long while with no words. Then, Will broke the silence by laughing. Loudly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But it worked out anyway, didn't it?"

Trey smirked at him knowingly, then looked away. "...Thank you."

Will didn't reply right away. He appeared to be almost touched by Trey's words. When he did, however, his voice hadn't changed at all. "Yeah, well, you better hurry up and get out of here with her. He might actually get back up, if you take too long."

Trey nodded, and held Will's gaze for a second before turning and trudging out of the small building, Lily leaning on his shoulder for support.

When he reached the others outside, he found them merely waiting for him outside the warehouse. "Are you ready?" Norman asked.

Trey merely nodded.

"Then let's go home."

* * *

_Please R&R!_


	32. Chapter 32: Curtain Call

_Hey everybody, time for another update!_

_I can't really say too much else here, and you'll see why soon, but, um, yeah. Enjoy! And please don't hate me afterwards.  
_

* * *

By the time that they had all made it back to Norman's house, the rain had stopped, and the previously dark and dreary sky had cleared up significantly. Ash was grateful for the sun to be shining again, to say the least, since his clothes had been thoroughly drenched in the rain.

Trey, on the other hand, left with Lily soon after reentering the city, saying that he wanted to get her into the hospital as soon as possible. Ash and May waved them off, promising to come and check on Lily later.

Once they were all back at the house, Caroline and Max shared a somewhat emotional reunion with Norman and May while Ash politely stood off to the side, watching happily along with Pikachu.

After a few minutes of this, Caroline looked across the room to Ash. "Ash, we can't thank you enough for what you did today. You risked your own life to save our family."

"Wow, uh..." Ash stuttered, slightly taken aback by her words. Max and Norman were grinning at Ash, as well, and May was beaming at him vibrantly. "...no problem, I guess."

"I agree with Caroline." Norman said. "I don't see how we can ever pay you back for this."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Dad." Max remarked, chuckling at his father. "I think Ash has got that taken care of."

"What?" Norman asked, looking blankly at Max, then to Caroline. "What's he mean by that?"

Caroline giggled. "Come on, dear. I think there's something we need to talk about."

Norman followed his wife out of the room, clueless as to her implication. May then walked to Ash's side, a twinkle in her eye as she locked gazes with him. Ash held her stare for a moment, but then turned to Max awkwardly. "Uh..."

Max caught Ash's meaning and grinned at him. "Ah, don't worry about me. I don't want to see you guys do that stuff, anyway."

And with that, he turned and left the room, heading deeper into the house and presumably to his room.

Ash turned back to May, who held his gaze with that same twinkle in her eye, until Ash stepped forward and grabbed her in a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry, May..." He choked out, his previously cheerful demeanor now gone. "I let Aaron take you, and I couldn't do anything to stop it at all!"

May didn't react right away, slightly shocked by Ash's actions. She hadn't expected him to be the one apologizing. "Ash, it's fine...it's not like you just let him kidnap us." She said softly, wrapping her arms around his back in return. You did everything you could."

He blinked a few times, digesting what she had said. He then drew back from her, holding her at arm's length. "Y-you think so?"

She nodded before continuing. "Ash...thank you for saving us."

They held the others gaze for a moment longer before May leaned in and placed her mouth over his, their arms still wrapped around each other. Ash leaned in to the kiss slightly, a rush of euphoria filling his body as he basked in the single fact that May was, in fact, still alive.

Later that afternoon, Ash and May decided to go and see Trey and Lily in the hospital. After arriving at the facility and locating Lily's room, with the help of a few nurses, they opened the door and tentatively stepped inside.

Inside, they found Lily, sitting in a hospital bed much like the one May had been in on Chrysanthemum Island, with Trey sitting at her side. Their hands were clasped on the bedside.

"Hey, you guys." Ash greeted as they stepped inside, shutting the door behind them.

"Pii-kaa-chu." Pikachu added, raising a hand.

Trey's head turned when he heard Ash's voice. "Hey, Ash, May."

"Hi." Lily remarked weakly. She seemed to be doing better than the last time they'd seen her, despite the fact that she was now in a hospital bed.

"How's your shoulder doing?" May asked, eyeing the wound suspiciously. The black vest Lily usually wore had been removed, leaving only her white tank-top, so her shoulder was more or less clearly visible behind all the bandages and such wrapped around it.

"...It's okay, I guess." Lily responded after a moment.

"Whatever that gun was that Aaron shot her with, it definitely wasn't the same one he had at the Battle Pyramid." Trey explained sadly. "They haven't even taken out the bullet yet. They said it was going to be tough to get to it."

"What?" Ash replied in shock, remembering how relatively simple it had been for his own bullet wound to be treated back on Cinnabar Island.

"I'm sorry, Lily." May said, bowing her head slightly. "You two went out there to help me and my dad."

"Don't say that, May, it wasn't your fault!" Lily responded at once.

"Besides, we probably would have headed out there anyway to stop Will." Trey added. "Don't blame yourselves."

"Well, thanks for helping us out, anyway." Ash said.

"...Yeah. Hopefully we won't have to deal with those guys anymore." May remarked.

"...Right." Trey replied softly, silently thinking of his older brother, who was more than likely dead at this point.

After wishing Lily good luck with her injury, Ash and May said their goodbyes to the two of them and decided to head back to the house.

After Norman was told of Ash and May's relationship, he went through somewhat of a series of reactions. First, he had said that he was sort of against it, given that he didn't think May was ready for or even needed a boyfriend, which then prompted Ash and May to wonder if that was how they were expected to refer to each other now.

Then, he decided that he was okay with it, since Ash had proven himself by saving them and effectively thwarting Aaron's plan.

Finally, after lots of 'careful thought', he concluded that he was actually in favor of it, due to the fact that Ash had been a wonderful role model for both May and Max during their adventures throughout Hoenn and Kanto.

All of this occurred between Norman first finding out and dinner, the final stage being declared by Norman himself during dinner that night, when he wished Ash and May luck when they went to Sinnoh.

"So...that's it, then?" May piped up, later that evening. They had all just finished eating dinner, and Caroline and Norman were still in the kitchen, conversing whilst they cleaned up from the meal. Ash and May were lying on the cool, damp grass in the front yard, staring up at the slowly darkening lavender sky, while Max, across the grass, busied himself by playing with Pikachu, Totodile, and Blaziken. "We're really...going to Sinnoh together?"

Ash looked over at her for a moment before turning back to the sky. "Yeah, I guess so."

They continued to watch the sky in silence, Ash's arms folded behind his head. The distant sounds of Max's laughter was audible in the silence.

"I'm really glad that my parents are okay with...us." May said, a few minutes later.

"Yeah, me too." Ash remarked. "Especially your dad. I didn't know if he liked the idea at first, but now he seems really happy about it."

"Yeah." May agreed, before the two entered another brief period of silence. "I really hope that Lily's shoulder is okay."

"I wonder why the wound is so much worse than mine was?"

"Well, you heard Trey. Aaron used some other kind of gun, didn't he?"

"I guess, but still..."

Silence arose once again, marred only by the sound of Max's distant laughter and the other Pokemon's voices.

"Ash, what do you think Sinnoh's like?"

Ash looked down from the sky for a moment as he thought the question over. "Hmmm...I dunno. There's probably lots of new Pokemon there, though!" He answered, rolling his head to the side to face May.

"I just hope they have their own Grand Festival." May added.

"Well, whatever's over there, I'm happy that I'll get to see it with you, May." Ash expressed, smiling at her.

May turned to look at him in surprise. Ash wasn't usually one for sweet talk like that. "Wow, Ash, when did you learn to say things like _that_?"

"Huh?" Ash replied, frowning in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"

May giggled and then merely smiled sweetly at him. "No. I want to see Sinnoh with you, too."

Ash turned his gaze back to the evening sky, still wondering what May meant about his words.

Some time later, long after the sky had turned dark instead of merely light purple, Max and the Pokemon came running past Ash and May.

"Come on, you guys!" Max called out as they ran past, toward the house. "It's really late, we should go inside!"

"Okay!" Ash called back, raising a hand in response. Max continued on toward the house while Blaziken, Totodile, and Pikachu stayed near their trainers.

"We probably should go inside." Ash said, looking sideways at May.

"Yeah..." May agreed slowly, appearing to be deep in thought about something. As Ash was about to stand up, she suddenly looked over at him. "Ash?"

"Yeah?"

She hesitated for a moment, still slightly unsure about what she was about to say. She had been thinking about it all evening, when it had hit her how much they had been through together in only the past few weeks, and how she felt when she looked at him.

Then, regaining her resolve a moment later, she looked over at him as he sat up on the ground next to her. "...I love you."

Ash's head shot to the side, and Pikachu's ears perked up in surprise. Blaziken and Totodile merely watched silently.

Ash stared at her for a moment, his mouth hanging open slightly as he processed what she had just said. But as he looked at her, he felt some of what she had been thinking through her eyes, and he realized that he had been thinking about the same things recently.

He stood up slowly, his expression still unsure as he turned back to her. But then, he reached out a hand toward her, and smiled as he met her gaze.

"I love you, too."

Beaming, May grasped his hand, and allowed him to pull her up from the grass.

* * *

_Well, there you have it, folks. What some would argue as the anticlimactic ending of this fic. I'm kind of happy that I actually got to finish it out in a way that I originally kind of sort of wanted to, and didn't just let it meander on and on until I got tired of it(which is another story entirely, trust me)_

_But on that same note, I've been planning to do a sequel fic to this for a while now, chronicling the events of Ash and May in Sinnoh. I'm not sure when I'm going to get around to doing that, but it will go up on here as soon as I do, so keep an eye out if you're interested._

_That's about all I have to say, so, until next time, and I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did! _


End file.
